Beauty and the Half Demon
by RoseDragonWitch
Summary: A bored, young peasant girl who seeks for a purpose in life and a cursed, young half demon that writhes in physical and emotional agony. His servants have become prisoners in their own home. A dark curse is at work that only the power of love can break.
1. Who could ever love a halfdemon?

**Prologue- Who could ever love a half-demon?**

Once upon a time…

...in a castle, buried deep within a forest... there lived a prince. His name was Inuyasha and he was born a half-demon. His father had died when he was still a baby and his mother died just a few years later. Ever since she had died, Inuyasha didn't experience the joys of being loved. He was half demon… half human… and he had no place to belong… and by the time that he realized that… he was all alone.

He grew up believing trust and love was weakness and weakness must be disposed of immediately.

And so he remained cold and distant. He ignored those around him and if he did talk he was rude and hurtful. Then one freezing, winter night an old beggar woman came to his door. It was dark and cold for it was late at night during a storm. There, stood a hunchback hag, her body was short and plump, curved around because of her hunchback and her crooked neck. She wore peasants clothes made of very scratchy material, (he figured it was scratchy because she could not stop scratching herself) her dress was an ugly green and she had a very simple shawl, which was really just a cloth of purple, draped over her shoulders.

She had hair growing in her ears and had a big crooked nose with a wart on it and her skin was a nasty yellow color, but there was a very strange thing about her eyes. Her eyes contrasted completely with the rest of her appearance; they were remarkably beautiful, such a beautiful glowing blue, and without any imperfection to them.

She beseeched him to allow her shelter until the storm was gone. "For you kindness I offer this. Something that could change your life…" she then pulled out a jewel no bigger than a large marble and glowed with a soft pink light.

As soon as he laid eyes on the little jewel he did something she did not expect. He laughed. Not a kind gentle 'come in and warm yourself' kind of laugh. No this was a cold harsh laugh, a mocking sound at her suffering.

After he finished he spoke in a cold voice, "What use do I have for a marble? I have everything I need right here. Why should I help you? You have nothing of value and you're nothing special. Leave before I force you to."

The woman's eyes turned a mixture of sadness and pity, and then anger swept over them as her eyes beaded, "Fine then, but are you sure? For you must know that things aren't always what they seem. Appearances can be deceiving, for true beauty lies within," she asked kindly.

"Yes, I am very sure that I don't want a creepy wench in my castle to scare the life out of me and to poison everything I own by her simple touch." With that he abruptly shut the door in her face. He had not gotten more than a few steps before the door blew open as if by a powerful wind. He swiftly turned around, the old woman was standing there and was chanting magic words that he thought sounded like a priestess chant, and then the old woman's ugliness had melted away until, there was not a hag there anymore, but an impossibly beautiful woman remained there.

She had long, black hair in a ponytail, beautiful fair skin, and wore the red and white attire of a priestess. But the prettiest thing about her was her eyes, such beautiful glowing blue eyes with no imperfections in them, wait! Were those the eyes of the hag he had just seen? Was she the very same woman? She couldn't have been! Surely he was just imagining it! But then...

"Hello, Inuyasha," she spoke in calm, soothing voice. "I am Head priestess Kikyo, I am the hag that you had just spoken to. You see I am a priestess and as you saw… a very old one. I have learned many things in my life. Many of which involve the deaths of demons and half-demons as yourself."

She smirked a little when she saw the color drain from his face. "I came to your castle because I was curious if you were someone who does not care about how others look, but for who they are. I came here to test you and now that I have, I can see that you failed, you judged me for how I looked, not who I was, and now I shall punish you for your behavior."

Inuyasha stood back, crouching down, preparing for an attack, but she didn't even raise a finger. "I am not a cruel person," she said calmly. "I am not eager to judge death and punishment… not even the wisest nor the most powerful beings know everything. My heart tells me that there is something, deep inside you that has yet to become free and I intend to bring it out."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he shot back.

"You don't have to fear death but you still have a lot to worry about. Being the kind person I am, I have decided to give you another chance. From this moment forward you will be a true demon. You will act mainly on instinct. Your demon blood will control most of your actions. You will still maintain your thoughts but for most of the time… you will not be in control. Also the members in the castle will turn into demons too. Each fitting their own personalities. They on the other hand will always be in control."

She sighed in pity as she saw the look of horror on Inuyasha's face. She went on, "I now give you this. It is but a small fragment of the jewel you scoffed. Slowly it will become whole. If you can learn to love another, and earn her love in return, by the time the jewel has become complete… then the curse will be gone and you will revert back to your normal selves. I wish you luck until then." With those final words she left him.

And as soon as she left, the beautiful palace had turned into a dark castle, surrounded by dead trees and an enchanted mist which hid the castle from view. And of course, just as she had said, Inuyasha, was now a pure demon; his eyes had turn a blood-red color, his fangs and claws grew painfully long, and purple, jagged stripes had appeared on his face. The transformation was painful and he curled up on the floor, shaking and cringing, trying to block out his pain. All of the people who lived in the castle had also changed into demons, although they suffered no pain.

And so he waited… it was all he could do, for sometimes the pain from his face and hands where so terrible there were periods of time where he couldn't move. Only curl up into a ball and wait for his pain to pass over. As the years passed, he fell into despair… and nothing that anyone would say to him would ease the pain in his heart… for how could anyone fall in love with a monster?

**(I decided to do a quick revision of the prologue.)**


	2. A Not So Quiet Village

**Chapter 1- A Not so Quiet Village

* * *

**

~*~

Seventeen year old Kagome awoke in her small cottage, and, like she always did, she put on a bright blue kimono shirt and cream-colored skirt and then went about her various chores like making breakfast, feeding the animals, cleaning, and so on. After her chores were done a few hours later, she was about to sit down for a rest when she remembered.

"Oh! I need to return my book I borrowed!" she quickly said good bye to her mother, grandfather, and her little brother Sota before hurrying out of the house, book in hand. As she walked, she looked at her surroundings, "Same as always," she sighed as she headed into the small town.

Meanwhile, the handsome Koga was about with his fellow wolf demon, Ginta, hunting birds like he always did around this time. "Wow!" shouted his two lackeys, Ginta and Hakakku, "You didn't miss a shot, Koga! You're the best hunter in the whole world!"

"I know," said Koga smugly.

"No creature alive stands a chance against you. And no girl, for that matter," went on Ginta as he followed Koga, dead birds in hand.

"That's true, Ginta. And I've got my sights set on that one." Ginta and Hakakku looked over his shoulder to see Kagome saying goodbye to the bookkeeper. "Kagome?" he asked Koga in amazement.

"Yep," said Koga. "She's the one - the lucky girl I'm going to marry. I'm going to make her my woman."

"But she's…" began Ginta.

"The most beautiful girl in the village," finished Koga.

"I know, but…" began Hakakku.

"That makes her the best. And don't I deserve the best?" he asked the boys with a dangerous look in his eyes.

Ginta stuttered, "Well, of course! I mean you do, but… but…" Koga then hit them both over the heads with an angry look on his face. Kagome couldn't help herself; she had to check out a new book that just came in. Kagome started walking back to the cottage, completely absorbed into the words, when she suddenly had the feeling that someone was behind her, she turned her head to see who it was, "Koga," she said, hoping she didn't sound too annoyed.

'Here we go again,' she thought to herself.

"Hello, Kagome!" said Koga. He grabbed at her book and flipped through the pages, looking at the book curiously

"Koga, could I have my book back please?" she said while holding out her hand, waiting for the book to be returned to her, but of course, it was not. "Kagome how can you read this? There's no pictures!" said Koga. She grabbed the book back hurriedly."Well Koga, some people can use their imaginations," she tried to turn around but he stopped her, grabbed her book once more, and threw it in the mud carelessly behind them.

"Kagome, you need to get your head out of these books and start thinking of more important things… like me." Kagome ran past him to pick the book up out of the mud and started to clean it.

"The whole town is talking about it, it's just not right for a woman to read, soon she start getting ideas...and thinking..." she stood up and smirked.

"Koga, you are positively primeval." Kagome said.

"Thank you Kagome, What do you say of... taking a walk with me over to the tavern to... take a look at my trophies?" he said confidently.

"Maybe some other time," said Kagome, who sounded like she rather eat worms than be left alone with Koga. She finally forced herself away from Koga before saying, "Please Koga, I can't, I have to get home to help my brother, good bye..." she started down the road when she heard Koga and the boys laughing.

"Ha ha ha! That little brat? He needs all the help he can get!" shouted one of Koga's lackeys. She turned around angrily, "Hey! Don't talk about my brother that way!" she yelled furiously.

"Yeah! Don't talk about her brother that way!" called out Koga, who was the one who was laughing the loudest."

"My brother isn't a weakling! He's strong!" she said, but then she suddenly yelling in the direction of her house and Kagome knew what was going on. She ran as fast as she could go, trying to reach the place before it was too late. She ran up a hill, looked around her quickly before spotting what she had been dreading for. A large group of demons had formed a circle down below her. She threw her book aside before running down the hill yelling, "What until I get you!"

Being the only priestess in a whole village can be a good thing. She was able to deal with the demons with no problems at all, and even if she didn't have any spiritual powers, she knew how to spar. The demons had gone after her little brother again. They seem to think that a 10 year old an easy prey, but ever since their father had been eaten by a demon, Sota had been training to fight against them. But Sota was still a little kid and he needed the help with a crowd as large as this. Despite the age difference they were very close and they were willing to do what they could for each other.

She took down the demons in record time. They were all super weak, and didn't have any trouble what so ever. Finally, she and Sota were standing, surrounded by the corpses of demons and gasping for air. Kagome manage to get through with only a few small cuts on her arms, but her brother had a deep gash on the side of his head. She got on her knees beside Sota and asked, "Sota? Are you alright? Let me see."

"I'm alright, sis," he said kinda pathetically. She ignored him, as she ripped a cloth from her skirt and began to dab at her brother's wound. As she worked she asked him what had happened, and he told her that he was coming out to the fields when the demons had ambushed. While he was telling her how he was fighting them when she showed up, Kagome heard a noise behind her. She quickly stood up, spun around, and landed a sound punch on the person's jaw so hard that it knock him to the ground.

It didn't take long for Kagome to realize the thing that she hit was not a demon but a person. "I'm so sorry are you okay?"

Sota suddenly out a low whistle, "Geez Kagome. How hard did you hit him? Who is it?"

"Considering how fast he fell pretty hard." Kneeling down to check on the man, she gave his shoulder a shake. "Excuse me sir? Are you okay?"

"I'll be better once you give me a kiss to make it feel better."

For the first time Kagome got a good look at the man she had hit. Ice blue eyes... oh, crap.

"Hi Hojo. If I had known it was you I would have hit harder."

This just caused Hojo to smile. "That's just one of the many things I love about you Kagome. You have such a great sense of humor. Now how about that kiss?"

"How about no?" she said irritably. "Honestly, between you and Koga, I never get a moment of piece.

After the momentary shock of being punched was over Hojo stood up, while rubbing his cheek. "I have to admit you pack a powerful punch but why are you learning to defend yourself?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "For protection of course. I can't exactly defend myself against demons if I don't learn some forms of defense."

"But you have no need to defend yourself at all if we got married! All you need to do is stay home and take care of the house." Hojo boasted. "Kagome, a woman shouldn't have to fight. The sooner you get married, the sooner you can settle down."

"How many times do I have to say it before it gets through that thick skull of yours? I'm not a piece of property to be claimed and I will most certainly not the type of person to stay behind and play house! You try cooking and cleaning all day! It's so boring! Take the hint that I'm not marrying anytime soon!" Kagome ranted.

By now Hojo's own little fan club had followed Hojo here and began whispering amongst each other. They consisted of Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi and this is the conversation they were having. "Who does she think she is? Can't she see how cute he is?"

"What I wouldn't give to be her! How can she keep refusing him like that? What's wrong with her?"

"He's so gorgeous..."

Kagome was about to rip her hair out in frustration. She grabbed her brother by the arm and made their way back to the house. But not before she walked past the girls and hissed to them, "It's not like I ask for Koga's or Hojo's affection! I don't want it! If you want them take them! You'll be going me a favor!"

With that Kagome stormed back to her house with Sota in tow.

"…I swear," Kagome said bitterly to Sota, "if Koga calls me his woman one more time I'll…I'll purify him! Make it so he's nothing but a little pile of ash! And maybe I'll break Hojo's arm or both of his legs. Let's see how his little fan club likes that. Neither of them seems to get through their heads that I'm NOT going to marry either of them." she went on for awhile until she walked through the front door and took a few deep breaths. Once she calmed down she took Sota into the kitchen and began to take care of his injuries.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," said Sota sadly.

"What are you sorry for, Sota?" she asked in amazement. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"If I was stronger than I could protect you from them," he said sadly. "I would get them to leave you alone." That alone was enough for Kagome to calm down and said gently, "Sota, you are strong. You're one of the strongest people I know. This has nothing to do with you. It's not your fault that Hojo and Koga are dense. No matter how many times I tell them, they just don't seem to get that I'm not going to marry either of them."

Something else seem to bother him though as she finished bandaging up his wound. Suddenly he said, "Kagome, are you sure that you never want to get married? You sure that you would be happy?"

"Sota...do you think I should marry Hojo or Koga?" she asked in horror.

"No," said Sota quickly. "I just want you to be happy, and I was wondering if you would be happier if you got married." He said this so sincere that she smiled. "Sota," she said gently. "I told you before. If I'm ever to marry, then it's going to be for love. I mean I would like to marry one day, but I'm not going to until I meet the right person."

"But how do you know if you've found the right person?" he asked uncertainly. "Well, first of all," she said seriously. "I'm not going to marry Hojo or Koga unless they change. They're both handsome alright, and short-minded, and... Oh Sota, neither one of them are for me!" Kagome sighed.

She finished bandaging up his head before going on, "I don't know who the right person is, but I won't marry unless I love them with all my heart. So you don't need to worry. Until I find 'Mr. Right' I'm happy here with you, mom, and grandpa."

Sota smiled has he hugged Kagome. His sister… he loved her… and he knew that she wouldn't marry unless she did find someone who she loved with her whole being… he couldn't wait until she did find that special someone… but at the same time he dreaded it. He wanted his sister to be happy, but it would sadden him greatly the day that she said, 'I do.'


	3. Two Weddings In One Day

**Chapter 2- Two Weddings in One Day**

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_Outside Kagome's House the Next Morning_

It seemed as if the entire town had gathered right there in Kagome's front lawn. There was cake, streamers, presents, and a band. Near the cake was a little fan club of Koga's, weeping their eyes out and on her front steps was Koga.

"Boy, Kagome is sure going to get the surprise of her life!" Hakakku said.

"Yep, today is her lucky day." Koga said proudly. He was dressed in a tuxedo and made a motion for everyone to stop talking. Then he started speaking, "I would like to thank you all for attending my wedding. Now all I need to do is propose to the girl." Everyone laughed as he said this, assuming he was joking. "Okay, remember Ginta, when Kagome and I walk out that door-"

"Oh I know! I strike up the band!"

"Good." Koga nodded then went to the door of Kagome's cottage and knocked; Kagome opened the door. _'Oh great! It's Koga again!'_ she thought in disgust.

"Koga! What a pleasant surprise…" she said, as he walked in, though she sounded as if she wished he would move to another country.

"Isn't it Kagome? I'm just full of surprises." he started to walk towards her. "You know Kagome; every girl in town would like to be in your shoes right now. This is the day…" He looked into the mirror on the wall, examining himself for a good 30 seconds or more before going on, "This is the day that your dreams come true." she backed away from him. "Koga, what would you know about my dreams?"

"Plenty! Just picture this…" He sat down, took off his muddy boots, and put his feet on the table, leaning back in his seat "A lodge up in the mountains... my latest kill roasting on the fire... and my little wife, massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the wolves." Taking his feet off the table he leaned closer toward her while Kagome backed away. "You know we'll have 6 or 7."

"Wolves?" she questioned.

"No! Tough boys, like me." She walked away, "Imagine that..."

He came closer, "And do you know who that wife will be?"

"Let me think..." she said fearing the answer.

"You Kagome."

She looked at him with a disgusted look on her face before she walked away to the other side of the room, putting a rocking chair between them, she leaned against the front door."Koga! I don't know what to say..." He came closer to her, to where his hands were on the door and his chest was up against hers. "Say you'll marry me." He leaned in to kiss her as Kagome, unknowingly to him, reached for the doorknob.

"I'm sorry Koga, I can't...I just...don't deserve you." She opened the door and stepped aside to let Koga fall into the mud as the band started playing, unaware of what had really happened. Kagome opened the door once more to throw his boots out the door with him and then slammed the door shut. Ginta came up to Koga.

"So how'd it go?" Ginta dumbly asked, obviously not paying attention to his surroundings, Koga wiped the mud from his face. He then grabbed both him and Hakakku by the scruffs of their shirts before knocking their heads together.

"I will have Kagome as my wife, make no mistake of that!" he barked coldly as they both laided down on the ground rubbing their heads. At that moment, Hojo walked up to him.

"You sure know how to charm a girl…" he said.

Koga gave him such a dangerous look, that if looks could kill, Hojo would be in a body bag. "As if you could do better!" he snapped harshly. He and Hojo have been going at each other for years now. They have a bet, whoever could make Kagome fall in love with either one, and then they would keep the girl.

Hojo walked passed saying, "Thanks for planning MY wedding for me." He then walked right up to the front door and opened.

Just as he was about to walk through he heard a yell above him. When he looked up there was Sota leaning out of the upper window trying to reason with him, "Are you sure this is a smart idea Hojo? I mean she was yelling at you just yesterday to leave her alone. Don't you remember? I heard you lost your hearing for a while."

"You obviously know nothing of women. She was just playing hard to get. She was yelling because she wants me. Now if you excuse, me I'M the one who's about to make her dreams come true." And so Koga walked right through the front door leaving behind a skeptical Sota shaking his head.

_'Poor guys,'_ Sota said to himself. _'Don't know what they're in for.'_ He shut the window and waited for Kagome to take over. "Kagome? Kagome! Come on down every body's waiting!" Hojo yelled.

'What the-? Who is it now?' Kagome thought. Just then her bedroom door opened and there stood a smirking Hojo.

"What are you doing in my house? Get out! Get out!" she screamed at him.

Hojo's smile only got bigger as he started to walk forward and speak "Now now this is not the time for games. Let's get going! Everyone is waiting."

"What nonsense are you spouting now? And what do you mean everyone? Who are they and why are you and Koga bothering me this early in the morning?!" she cried out.

"The entire village has come to celebrate our wedding," Hojo admitted proudly. "Well, actually they came to see Koga's wedding, but I think that I might have more luck."

_'Did he just say…no he couldn't have... Even Koga isn't that dense… this has got to be a nightmare… then why aren't I waking up?" she thought in a panic. "Ok just stay calm...beep breaths…I know! I'll close my eyes and when I open them he'll be gone. Ok eyes are closed he's going to be gone…now! What the-? Why is he still here?' _

"Any minute, now," said Sota to himself as he made his bed and sure enough, he heard his sister screech, "AAAUUUGGGHHH! Get out of house you ass! Out!"

"Now Kagome lets be rational," Sota heard Hojo yell. "Let's go down stairs. I know you're nervous but its ok I'm here to help." Sota then shook his head in amazement. "Buddy," he said to himself, "If she says that she rather eat worms than walking down the aisle with you… then you need to give up."

He heard the front door open, a yell of shock, a disgusting splash, a slam, and more yelling. He didn't need to guess what had happened. His sister opened the door, twisted Hojo's arm before she shoved him into the mud. Then Kagome slammed the door shut just as the music started to the window, she opened it, and screamed, "Get off of my lawn and go home!" She then ran upstairs and slammed her bedroom door shut.

_Later...when Sota felt it was safe to check on his sister…_

Sota knocked on his sister's door. "Sis you in there?" he asked as he put his ear to the door "Sis?" he repeated worriedly.

"Is it safe to come out?" Kagome called out.

Sota cracked a smile, "Yeah, its safe. They all left and took everything with them…except the cake! I took it when they weren't looking."

"So my 'wedding' wasn't a total waste after all," said Kagome when she opened the door. "At least those idiots were good for something." She looked out the window to make sure that everyone was gone before saying bitterly, "Can you imagine? They asked me to marry them! Me, the wife of one of those boorish, brainless…" she went on for awhile. Sota knew that she was mad and put in, "I'm glad that you didn't marry either of them. There's no way that you would be happy playing house with them."

Kagome gave him a soft smile before bending down to look at him in the eye. "You really want me to be happy don't you?" she asked him serenely. When her brother blushed and nodded without looking at her, she smiled even wider and pulled him into a hug. "Sota?" she asked him. "If I do get married one day… do you think that you will want him to be your brother-in-law?"

Sota returned the hug before saying, "If you love him… and want to marry him… then he must be the right person. I know that I would like him if you did." Kagome pulled back to look at Sota's face and said, "Glad to know that I have your support all the way. Now since mom and grandpa went to the next village for supplies, why don't we have some cake for breakfast? I'll let you have the first slice."

_Half an Hour Later_

They feasted on cake until neither one wanted to move. Unfortunately, they both had important things to do today… there was a man coming into town once a year that sold horses and Kagome had finally saved up enough to get herself one. Her mother had agreed that if she could pay for it then she could finally buy herself a horse to ride. Sota on the other hand was going to meet their mother and grandpa near the nearby village and help carry whatever supplies that they bought. Kagome had promised him that when he got home then he could ride on her new horse, if he wanted too.

Kagome put away the rest of the cake, promising her brother that they would have it after dinner tonight. The left the house and walked together until they were on top of the very hill were, yesterday, Kagome had run down to help Sota fight off demons. The both waved goodbye to each other and walked off in opposite directions.

Sota couldn't wait to get home and see the horses that Kagome had bought. He hoped that she picked out a big one to ride! And they were going to have cake after dinner! Maybe today wasn't such a bad day… despite the 'almost' weddings this morning. He was so glad that his sister was so stubborn and strong; he really didn't like the idea of have Hojo or Koga as a brother-in-law. And he knew that neither of them was right for Kagome. He just shook his head and walked faster down the path to meet mom and gramps.

He traveled for quite a while, over hills and through a prairie, finally he found himself lost in a thick forest when it was about noon. It was not long before he found himself at a fork in the road. He knew that he was running seriously late… but he also knew that if he took the right path then he could be there in half the time. So instead of heading down the usual path, he ended up taking what he thought was a short cut.

He walked a few miles before he began to notice that something was wrong. He didn't recognize anything around him. How could this be? He was sure that he took the right short cut… he also began to notice that it was getting darker… he was starting to get scared… he decide to turn around and take the longer path back at the crossroads. He would be late but that was better than being lost in a creepy wood all by yourself right?

He turned around and began running back the way he came… but it was getting darker and darker by the minute. The air had grown colder, and the twisted trees began to sway heavily though there wasn't any wind. A dark, mist began to flow throughout the path, and the sound of howling wolves filled the air around him. Was it Koga? For the first time in his life he hoped that it was… he after another chorus of howls he knew that it wasn't Koga and he did what you would have done in his situation.

He ran…

He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He ignored the pain from the scraps he was getting from the branches he hit while running. But the mist was so dark that he couldn't tell where he was running… he could have just been running in circles for all he knew. He could hear the sound of the wolves coming closer… and closer… he knew that if he didn't do something… he was going to end up in a wolf's belly. Before he could think of something, was tumbling down a small hill into the path of the gate of an old, scary castle.

The castle before him was dark, dank, and cold with tone was cut with precision. It had a curved structural device, made of stonework, used to support the structure as well as enlarge an opening. The pointed arch could support greater weight, allowing walls to be thinner with wider window openings and the walls were solid walls and pillars. It had flying buttresses, which distributed the weight of roofs and walls right down to the ground with Hammer beam roofs, and many slender towers.

The windows were all very large; most had balconies to walk out on, and were made of what looked like dirty, stained glass. There were sculptures of stone gargoyles that were all ugly, frightening, and intimidating that all looked like they were made of limestone and marble.

There was an enormous courtyard that looked as if you could fit the whole village inside! There were dead trees, vines, and plants that lay scattered among the ground and a giant water fountain in the very center of the courtyard with gargoyles as waterspouts… though he could see that the water was so filthy that it looked black. In the corner of the courtyard, he could see a tiny carriage, which looked big enough for maybe one person, that was just rotting away. He was standing outside of the castle gates that were rusted and looked as if they reached about 15 feet above his head. Every part of his mind was yelling to turn and leave this place, at least until he heard the sound of wolf howls again. He disregarded the look of the place and without hesitation, ran up to the gates

"Help! Someone please let me in! Help!" he yelled while jiggling at the gate, and to his amazement it opened by itself, he threw himself in and slammed them shut behind him. He walked a few feet away before he collapsed on the ground and laid there, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He was so tired that he didn't want to move… he just wanted to lie there and hope that he would wake up from this nightmare.

He stayed like that for such a long time that the sun had set and it was pitch black out… he was just beginning to think that he would wait until the sun had rose and then he would held home… hopefully the wolves would be gone by then. When suddenly, his sister's face popped into his head. He sat up almost instantly… he needed to get home to Kagome, mom, and grandpa! He got up, and turned around to face the horrid castle, slightly scared he ever so slowly walked up to the castle and knocked on the door, when no one answered he invited himself in.

"Hello?" he called in as he poked his head around the door very cautiously. "Hello-o? Is anyone there? I don't mean to intrude... but I got lost... and I was wondering if anyone here could help me get home." He called out to whoever might be dwelling in the castle; but no one appeared. He opened the front door a little wider and slipped inside, the inside looked even bigger than the outside did! It was very plain; it had a dark purple carpet that stretched from the door to the end of the room, tall stone pillars with more gargoyles, a winged staircase made of what looked like marble. There were fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and the doors were at least 10 feet high. If it wasn't so creepy then this place would have been one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. The castle seemed to be deserted… but then again it was a huge castle, and it was late so maybe everyone was asleep?

It was then that he heard someone whisper, "Oh Miroku! Have a heart!"

"Shippo, be quiet."

Sota jumped and looked around him… trying to see who made the noise. "Is someone there?" he hoped that he didn't sound as frighten as he was.

"Can we help?" said another voice.

"I wish we could Kohaku," said a woman's voice.

"But sister…"

"Of course you may stay here sir," said a man's voice very loudly.

"Who said that?" Sota called out to the shadows.

"Over here," said a child's voice from somewhere.

"Where are you?" Sota asked again.

"Look up," said the woman's voice again. Sota turned his attention upwards… and there… clinging to the ceiling like geckos… where 5 demons peered intrestedly at him.

" 'Ello," said the smallest demon that looked like a fox.


	4. Take Me Instead

**Chapter 3- Take Me Instead

* * *

**

"Mom! Grandpa! Sota! I'm home!" Kagome yelled as she threw off her shoes and walked in. she bought her new horse, a beautiful, chocolate brown stallion that she calls Jinenji, who was out in the stable with the cows and other animals.

"Sota! Come and see Jinenji!" she called excitedly. She couldn't wait for him to see her horse, but all of a sudden her mother came in looking scared.

"Kagome, you're back. Where's Sota?"

Kagome was taken aback… "What are you talking about mom? Isn't Sota with you? I saw him walk off on the pathway to go and meet you guys on the way home from the other village.

Her mother gone very pale and had to hold onto a chair for support. "I was hoping that he decided to go with you to get your horse and that he just forgot about us." Her mother then started to cry.

"Mom! Mom, what's wrong?"Kagome shot up and looked her mother in the eye.

"Oh, Kagome! We've looked everywhere! Sota never showed up! We were walking down the path but he never came to meet us. Me and grandpa had been looking everywhere for him but we can't find a trace of Sota anywhere!" she started to cry some more before she went on, "I had been hoping that he was with you all day."

Kagome jumped to her feet. "I'll help look! I'm going back into town! Maybe someone there has seen him!" Kagome nodded to her mom and ran outside to get Jinenji. Sota was missing? It was like a bad dream, a terrible nightmare! Her only little brother!"

_*Later*_

She had ridden into town and was asking everyone she saw if they knew where Sota was, but no one knew anything! After a fruitless search in town, she headed back to the place where she last saw him… the hill.

_'Maybe he took the wrong path or something and he got lost,'_ she thought to herself as she reached the top of the hill and looked around, hoping that she would see her brother smiling and waving to her. When she couldn't see him anywhere she urged Jinenji to run faster. She raced over hills and through a prairie, until she was in the forest. She decided to take the path that lead to the neighboring village, and maybe she would find him along the way. It was not long before she stopped at a fork in the road.

She was about to go down the usual path when she noticed something on the ground. She jumped off Jinenji and bent down to see what it was… footprints! She recognized them as her brother's small footprints! So he did come this way! But why would he take the right path when the shortcut was on the left? Maybe he really did get lost? No matter what the reason… she had to find Sota. She jumped back onto Jinenji and urged him onwards on the right path, hoping that her dear little brother was safe. She rode on for a few miles before she began to notice that it was getting darker and darker by the minute. The air was starting to get colder, and Jinenji was starting to act uneasy. Not that she blamed him though; she was starting to get scared herself.

A dark, mist began to flow throughout the path, and the sound of howling wolves filled the air around her… and then she felt it… she felt her brother's presence! Another good reason to be a priestess, you can sense not only demon but human auras. Her brother had definitely been through here. She raced onwards as fast as Jinenji could go; ignoring the scraps she was getting from the branches that hit her face while running. But the mist was getting so dark that she was having trouble seeing where to go… when suddenly Jinenji stopped running and almost bucked her off.

Kagome had to jump down and grab the reins to stop him from going berserk and running off. She pulled the reins to force him down on all fours and very gently began to talk in soft, soothing words to calm him down. Once she felt that Jinenji was calm she turned to get a good look at her surroundings… she was standing on top of a small hill overlooking the largest castle that she had ever seen.

She didn't like the looks of it one bit. She wanted to turn away and leave as soon as possible… until she had an idea. She closed her eyes and waited… she was searching for her brother's aura… trying to detect where he was… and to her dismay… what she had been dreading was true… her brother was inside that castle.

It was the last thing that she wanted to do, but nevertheless, she mustered her courage and walked towards the palace gates, holding tightly to Jinenji's reins; partly to keep him calm and partly to keep herself calm.

"Shush... its ok, its ok." Kagome soothed to him while gently stroking his face. "I promise, once we find my brother, we can all go home." Kagome then turned and reached up to touch the gate when it suddenly opened by itself. She took a step back… feeling a fresh wave of panic starting to come over her again.

She looked at Jinenji before taking a deep breath and leading him past the gate. She led him to the ugly fountain in the middle of the courtyard and tied his reins to the fountain's gargoyle before she slowly walked up to the tall, old, and wooden doors. As she walked up, she examined the crumbling black surface of the walls on that of what she thought, was once a shining palace, she stopped at the doors. She knocked once and only once, waited, nothing, she opened the door slowly and walked in.

She walked along the dark purple rug to the end of the room where the winged staircase was and proceeded up the left side… looking for any sign of her brother or whoever lived here. She would just explain to them that she was looking for her little brother, who must have gotten lost, and that they would leave right away. As she walked up the stairs she noticed that was a bit like the outside, dark, old, and needed of dusting, the purple curtains were almost rags now and hung in bits of material, the chandler that once sparkled bright with a thousand diamonds was now a dull decoration hanging from the ceiling, but surprisingly, Kagome couldn't help but feel at least the slightest bit of a warm feeling from the castle, as if it was a relative's house.

"Hello?" She called out, "Hello? Is anyone there? Sota?" she walked around a bit, searching for any sign of life. She was so intent of finding Sota that she didn't notice that someone was around the corner, examining the new arrival; he raced back to where his family was. A young demon had turned around and ran through the rooms until he reached the kitchen.

"Sister! Sister! There's a girl in the castle!" cried young Kohaku to his older sister, Sango who was washing the dishes tonight.

"Oh stop talking of all this nonsense Kohaku," said Sango as she looked sternly over the sink. "It's my turn to do the dishes and I'm very tired tonight. I don't have time for your stories now."

"But, sister, there really is a girl in the castle! I saw her," Kohaku said seriously. Sango opened her mouth to say something when Rin came into the room and said, "Sango! Kohaku! I saw a girl in the castle!"

Sango felt her jaw drop as she stood up and asked, "There's really is a girl here?" she said, in hushed tones. "I told you, Sango!" said Kohaku smugly.

_*Meanwhile...*_

Miroku and Shippo were chatting to each other, "All I'm saying is that he didn't have to overreact like that to a kid," said Shippo angry. "I mean Sota, barely looked older than I do so why did he have to…" when they turned the corner they stopped dead. They both slipped into one of the open doors before they peeked out again… "Miroku…" said Shippo uncertainly. "Is that what I think it is?"

"If it's not then we're both starting to see things, Shippo," said Miroku as he squinted his eyes, "Yes, yes! It's a girl!" he whispered in amazement.

"I know that it's a girl, idiot!" he gasped from realization to what was going on. "I meant what is a girl doing here?"

"Who cares?" cried out Miroku quietly with a big smile while doing a little jig. Shippo was about to ask if he had left his mind somewhere before Miroku said in a whisper, barely keeping his excitement, "Don't you see? She's the one! The one that we've been waiting for all this time! She's the one who has come to break the curse!" and he very silently began to follow her down the hall with Shippo at his heels.

Kagome thought that she heard voices and footsteps behind her, but when she turned, she didn't see anyone. Nor did she feel any evil presence… "Hello? Sota?" she called out hesitantly. "I don't mean to bother you but I'm looking for my little brother. Hello?" no one answered her. '_Maybe I'm starting to lose it,' _she thought to herself as she turned her attention back to looking for Sota.

_'So,'_ thought Miroku, _'She's that boy's older sister…'_ they followed her down the hallway, then Miroku had a though. Without a word, he waited until she poked her head into a room before he snuck in front of her and slipped through a door at the end of the hall. Kagome obviously noticed the door closing; "Who's there?" she called out. She ran to the door and opened it, expecting to see someone but all she saw were stone steps that lead downward. She was about to turn back before she could see a faint light being carried away, as if someone was carrying a candle downstairs.

"Hello?" she said, walking downstairs towards the light. "Wait! I'm looking for my brother. I…" Soon she reached the bottom step; she was in a dungeon. Miroku had placed a small candle in an opening specially designed for candlesticks before hiding in the shadows where he could watch.

She looked around her, but she could see anyone around—and yet she could help but feel as if someone was watching her. "I could've sworn…" she said to herself, "Is anyone there?"

At first, no one answered, and then, "Kagome?"

"Sota!" she cried out in horror. Sota was locked in a cell near the end of the dungeon. She grabbed a small torch and ran to his cell, reaching through the small bars, "Sota! Are you okay?" She grabbed his hand to hold it but flinched. "How did you find me?" asked Sota as he coughed violently.

"Oh, your hands are so cold!" she said sounding close to tears. "I got to get you out of here!"

"No, Kagome!" he cried out in panic. "You need to leave, now! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just go!" he sounded petrified.

"Who did this to you?" she asked him as she fought to get the door open.

"There's no time to explain!" he yelled. "You need to get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving here without you!" Kagome told him taking his cold hand. Suddenly something moved in the shadows behind her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" yelled a furious voice, grabbing her by her shoulder and spun her around until she fell on the hard, stone floor.

"RUN KAGOME!" cried Sota.

Kagome stood shakily. "Who's there?" she yelled out, more angry than scared. She had dropped the torch and the fire had gone out, so she could barely see anything in this low light. The only rays of light, that were left, were coming from a small open window higher up, and the person who she knew that was responsible for locking up her brother, was standing in the shadows where she couldn't see him.

"Who are you?" she asked fiercely.

"I'm the one in charge," he said darkly. "A more important question, is who are you? And why are you in MY castle?" the voice was harsh, and gruff… it didn't sound human.

"First of all that's two questions," she said furiously. She could hear Sota moaning as if to say, 'Kagome—this is not the time to mouth off!' but she didn't care. "Second, I'm here for my brother. And you better let him go! He's just a little kid!"

"Oh," he said. "I should have known that this little brat was your brother." Suddenly, the door of Sota's cell opened and a strong hand gripped Sota's throat and lifted him off the ground as he gagged in desperation for freedom.

"I'm... S-Sorry! I... did... didn't... mean..."

"I don't care if you meant to or not! You trespassed into my castle and you're gonna pay!" The assaulter's hand tightened and Sota's eyes watered with pain.

_*Flashback*_

_" 'Ello," said the smallest demon that looked like a fox. _

_Sota stared at them for a moment before turning sideways, preparing for a fight. Kagome had told him that if you turn sideways right before a battle then it'll make it harder for your opponent to hit you._

_"Don't worry," said a young looking demon. She looked to be the second youngest, as she jumped down from above and landed gracefully in front of him. She held out her hand and said, "Hi! My name is Rin! What's yours?" she said this in such a gentle and excited tone that Sota couldn't help but smile and relaxed. "My name is Sota," he answered her as they shook hands. She looked no older than 6 or 7 years old; he could also tell that she was a dog demon. She had bright, pink flowers tied up in her long black hair. She had beautiful black eyes, which matched the cute, little, black dog ears sticking out of the top of her head. She was in a bright orange and yellow dress with flowers that matched the ones in her hair._

_She had a bright smile and turned her head up to wave at the demons above her. The other four jumped down immediately. "Hi," said a boy that looked to be about his age, maybe a little older, he was also a dog demon with brown hair, tied in a ponytail at the back of his head and brown, floppy, dog ears on top poking out. He was dressed in a simple purple shirt and dark paints. "I'm Kohaku and this is my big sister Sango." He gestured to the woman who was standing next to him._

_The woman, Sango, looked to be about Kagome's age, and had a friendly smile. She and the man, who was right behind her, were also dog demons. She had long, dark brown hair and brown eyes; although her ears looked almost like a human's would, except that they were pointed like an elf's would be. She was dressed in a pink shirt and green skirt with a white apron. And as for the tall man behind her, he had a kind face, and like Sango he had pointed ears, but his eyes were full of mischief and were eyeing Sango in a strange way._

_"Sota is it?" the man asked. Sota nodded and he went on, "I'm Miroku and this little guy here," he gestured towards the small fox demon on the floor in front of him, "this is Shippo."_

_Shippo was so small, that when he jumped up, he was able to sit on Miroku's shoulder like a parrot would. "Nice to meet you Kohaku," Shippo said in a cheerful voice. Sota smiled, and then the room began to shake strangely. _

_"Ah, you look half frozen, come sit by the fire now." Miroku gestured, we walked the new guest into the living room. It was then that Sota realized that the shaking was him not the room._

_"Ok, he can stay, but we have to be quick!" Shippo whispered. "If you-know-who finds out then…" Sango didn't seem to hear as she placed a warm blanket being swept over him and began to serve him some hot tea._

_Sota sat there for a little while and talked to the demons. "Thank you," he said as he began to tell them what had happened to him and wanted to know if they could get him back to his house before his family got worried. Miroku said that he would be glad to take him but before he could say anything else the door burst open. Sota felt as if the room just got 30 degrees colder as he spun around to see another demon… but this demon was far more frightening than any other he had ever seen._

_"What are you doing in my castle!" he raged, as he stepped forward._

_"I- I lost my way and I needed help…" he began but then the beast interrupted him, "You shouldn't be here!" he grabbed him… and Sota heard and saw no more as he blacked out. _

_*End flashback*_

"STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" Kagome shrieked. The attacker had dropped Sota and he lay sobbing, sprawled across the ground. She rushed to his side and pulled him close to her. "Oh Sota!" He cried into her chest and she cradled him. She knew that he was strong enough to fight demons but this one was far stronger than any she'd ever seen.

"Why do you want this little runt?" The assailant growled at her. Kagome looked up to see the speaker. She gasped. He had walked into the light and she could see he was a tall, lean, but muscular man towering above her. Silver hair cascaded over his shoulder above his red haori and two silver dog ears perked up on the top of his head. His eyes glowed red with glistening blue pupils and two purple stripes spread from his cheek bones to beneath both his eyes. A demon!

Kagome held Sota even closer to her. She opened her mouth she said as fiercely as she could muster, "Get away from us!"

The demon growled and jumped at the pair. He grabbed Sota with ease and raised his clawed hand as if to slash her to pieces. She couldn't move, she stared into his eyes as she felt a hot tear fall from her face, and waited for the pain to come. But then, maybe she imagined it, but something in this demon's eyes changed. She didn't know what but, instead of attacking her, he harshly pushed Kagome aside. She landed on the cold, hard floor once again.

"Kagome!" Sota shouted as the demon picked him up with ease. Kagome sprang back up on her feet and screeched, "WAIT!" The demon turned around, clearly aggravated by this newly acquired nuisance. "Can you let him go? Please!" She begged. "Please, let him go! I'll do anything!" The demon flew back and looked her straight on the eye.

"There is nothing that you can do!" He snarled. He turned and began walking away clutching Sota's shoulder painfully. "He's my prisoner."

"There must be something I can do," she pleaded. Kagome thought as quickly as she could then made one more request. "Wait!" The demon glanced back but did not stop walking. "Please! Just wait!" She ran towards him. "Please! You can take me instead! I'll take his place!" The demon stopped in his tracks and slowly turned towards her.

"Keh! You?" He scoffed. For a moment he looked down at his feet, and then stared her in the eye again. "You would... take his place?" He questioned but in a much more quiet and gentler tone.

"If I do… would you let him go home?" she asked seriously.

"No! No Kagome, you can't do this! Hurry and run! Go home and forget about me!" shouted Sota who sounded like he was on the verge of tears. He kicked out at the demon and started to struggle, but the demon didn't seem to notice. His attention was focused entirely on Kagome. She didn't back down as she stared into his eyes; but she had to be careful. He had her brother, one false move and she would be left with nothing but a body. The demon looked at her hard and long before saying to her, "Yes… but you must promise that you'll stay forever."

"No Kagome don't do it!" cried out Sota desperately. His sister ignored him as she slowly walked forward. "Yes," she said holding her head up high, "but only if you promise to let him go and to never harm him again. My horse is outside in your courtyard, tied up at the fountain. Let him ride home and then forget all about him. Promise me this and you'll have my word as a priestess that I will stay here f…forever."

The demon waited, thinking it over… and then… "Done!"

He dropped Sota to the floor, who got up and ran to Kagome with tears falling down his face. "No! Kagome, no!" Sota shouted. He then flung his arms around his sister as she held him close to her, who couldn't fight the tears falling from her eyes. "Kagome you don't have to do this!" cried Sota, but at that moment the demon walked over, grabbed Sota by the scruff of his neck and started to drag him away. "Wait!" cried Kagome.

"Kagome!"

"Sota!"

And Sota was dragged away… and Kagome thought that she would never see her beloved little brother again. She got up and ran into Sota's cell, where she got a good view of the courtyard, as she had hoped, and she waited. She had her eyes on Jinenji the whole time, which kicked at the ground nervously. A few minutes later she heard the door burst open and she saw the demon dragging Sota along like a rag doll.

"PLEASE," she heard him cry out. "PLEASE LET KAGOME GO! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! LET HER GO AND I'LL STAY HERE! PLEASE, LET MY SISTER GO!" Kagome could feel more tears fall down her face as she listened to Sota's pleas. "Sota," she whispered under her breath. "Go home and forget about me. Please. Everything I did here, I did for you. I gave up my own freedom for you… you have your own freedom back… just go home… I am dead to you now… you must forget my existence."

She then heard the demon yell out, "YOUR SISTER IS NO LONGER YOUR CONCERN!" he then went over to Jinenji who began to buck and neigh as it saw the demon walking towards it. the demon then reached up and with one hand pulled the horse down on all fours before dragging Jinenji over to the front gate. It was then that she noticed the small carriage, and the demon then tied Jinenji to the front of it and then shoved Sota inside. He then slapped Jinenji hard on the rear and the horse took off, pulling Sota in the carriage in the process. Sota, screaming her name the whole time.

"Take him to the village," she heard him growl, and she watched until she could no longer see her horse or her brother. Once he made sure that they were gone, the demon turned around and went back inside the castle.

"Sota…" whispered Kagome. "Grow up strong… you have to look after mom, grandpa, and the farm now… take good care Jinenji for me…" Kagome couldn't stop the tears that fell harder and faster than they ever did before. She was not what you call an emotional person… but losing her family, home, and everything else she ever knew in one day would make anyone cry like a baby. "I love you, Sota. Take care…" she then buried her face in her arms as she slid down the wall and cried her heart out.

She leaned up against the wall, all curled up, and continued to cry until she heard the demon come in and bark, "What are you crying about now?" he asked carelessly, Kagome would have slapped him but she was too sad to care.

Instead, she looked up at him and gave him the dirtiest look she could muster before saying, "You didn't let me even say good-bye! I'll never see him again, and I didn't even get to say good-bye!" He looked at her, his expression softened for a moment, what was that in his eyes? Was that guilt?

"I'll show you to your room," he said in the softest voice possible for a gruff voice like his, she looked at him, startled.

"My room? But I thought that…"

"Look, do you want to stay in the dungeon?" he asked harshly.

"No," she said shaking her head.

"Then follow me," he turned and left. Unwilling, she followed him.

He walked down the hall with Kagome right behind him and staring around her at the ugly/creepy statues and paintings that littered the huge hallway.

"By the way...my name… is Inuyasha," the demon said suddenly. Kagome mouthed the name slightly, it seemed like she had heard the name before _'Inuyasha...'_ she thought.

Inuyasha continued, "I hope you'll like it here." He said it as if he thought that was what someone should say. He then went on before she could make a smart remark, "The castle is your home now so feel free to go anywhere you want... except the west wing." She looked up at him, confused and started to ask, "But why can't I-"

"It's forbidden," his words echoed through the hallway in a menacing tone. She flinched slightly, but quickly hid her fears and didn't say another word until they stopped outside a large door. Inuyasha opened the door for her, "Now," he said as she walked in. "If you need anything, my servant's will attend you." She was so miserable that she didn't bother looking at 'her room.'

"You will... join me for dinner...that's not a request!" Inuyasha yelled suddenly as he slammed the door behind her.

Kagome ran to her bed, leaped onto it, and cried some more.


	5. My Name Is Inuyasha

**Chapter 4- My name is Inuyasha

* * *

**

Inuyasha had been curled up in a ball on the floor of his room for the last few hours. He was in pain again. Once in awhile the curse he was under threatened to overwhelm him, and tear him apart from the inside. To keep what little control he had, he would lock himself in his room for hours, sometimes days, and wait for his pain to pass over.

His temper was always so much worse after his demon blood reacted violently with him. So when he saw the little boy sitting in his chair, drinking his tea, and talking with his servants… he couldn't stop himself when he knocked the child out and threw him down in the dungeon. After he had a yelling contest with everyone else in the castle he went to his room and onto the large balcony to get some air.

7 years…

It had been 7 years since the priestess Kikyo had come and placed this retched curse upon him and the castle. 7 years he had to deal with this pain, this terrible agony, this isolation. He couldn't take it anymore. What was he supposed to do? He looked back towards the small jewel that floated beneath the glass that he kept in his room. The jewel was becoming whole. He was running out of time and fast. He turned his attention back to his courtyard and let out a sigh of despair. Judging by how big the jewel was getting, he had less than a year left to fall in love with another… something that was never going to happen.

Just when he had decided that he would just go to bed, he smelt something usual. His head popped up as he took in the beautiful scent… floral? He hadn't smelled any flowers except the ones from the gardens, and even then he hardly ever went in there. But this scent was more wonderful than any flower could ever hope to be.

He turned back outside to try to find the source of this magnificent smell. He looked down at his empty courtyard again… and saw that it wasn't empty anymore. A young girl that looked no older than 17 or 18 years old had just arrived at the gate. She was holding onto the reins of a stallion and pulled him past the gate and walked up to the fountain. He watched her tie up her horse and look up at the castle; he jumped back so that he was sure that she couldn't see him, but so that he could still see her.

Even with his demon eyes, he couldn't see the girl's face, but he continued to watch her as she slowly made her way up the castle stairs, knocked once, and entered. _'Why would she come here?'_he thought to himself. Then suddenly it hit him. The boy!

He quickly left the room and headed down into the dungeons at lightning speed; and he waited for her. He knew that she must be looking for the boy, he couldn't think of any other reason that she would come into his castle like she did. He hid in the shadows where the little boy couldn't see him, and waited. After about 15 minutes, she finally came. First, he saw Miroku carrying a small candle, before placing it down and disappearing in the dark. He would deal with him later. A few seconds later he heard footsteps…

"Hello?" he heard a voice that sounded like chiming bells. It was the most beautiful sound that he ever heard. "Wait! I'm looking for my brother. I…" she suddenly appeared at the bottom step.

She was very beautiful; with rosy skin, long raven-colored hair, a perfect body, but the thing that caught his attention was her eyes. They were a bright, chocolate color and when he looked at them, he felt as would get lost in them forever. Now that she was closer to him, he could breathe in that wonderful floral scent that radiated from her. She smelled of cherry blossoms, vanilla, with a hint of peppermint… he breathed in very deeply and for as long as he could, to get as much as that scent as possible.

He stared, as she looked around, "I could've sworn…" he heard her say to herself. "Is anyone there?" she cried out.

At first, no one answered, and then, "Sis?"

"Sota!" she cried out in horror. He watched her run over to the cell and cried out, "Sota! Are you okay?" She grabbed his hand to hold it, but he saw her flinch. "How did you find me?" the boy asked before coughing violently.

"Oh, your hands are so cold!" she said sounding close to tears. "I got to get you out of here!"

"No, Kagome!" he cried out in panic. _'Kagome?'_ so that was her name thought Inuyasha. "You need to leave, now! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just go!" he sounded petrified.

_'No,'_ thought Inuyasha. He didn't want this beauty to go, and besides the boy was his prisoner. He jumped down silently and approached them from behind. The girl was so focused on the boy that she didn't notice that he was right behind her.

"Who did this to you?" she asked him as she fought to get the door open.

"I don't have time to tell you!" the brat yelled. "You need to get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving here without you!" Kagome told him taking his cold hand. Inuyasha thought that now would be a good time to reveal him, and he moved.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he yelled trying to sound furious, grabbing her by her shoulder and spun her around until she fell on the hard, stone floor.

"RUN KAGOME!" he heard the brat cry out.

The girl called Kagome stood shakily. "Who's there?" she yelled out, sounding angry as if she was waiting for a fight. She looked around and Inuyasha knew that she could barely see anything in this low light. A human girl who wanted to fight? She wasn't like any other girl he ever met before.

"Who are you?" she asked fiercely.

"I'm the one in charge," Inuyasha said darkly. "A more important question is who are you? And why are you in MY castle?" he didn't know why he spoke so harshly, even to himself.

"First of all that's two questions," she said furiously. Oh, so she had a smart mouth also? He could hear the boy moaning from his cell. "Second, I'm here for my brother. And you better let him go! He's just a little kid!" Kagome went on.

"Oh," he said. "I should have known that this little brat was your brother." He didn't know why he felt so relieved when he heard that the boy was her brother. But it was at that moment that he felt his demon blood beginning to burn once again, and before he could stop himself he opened the boy's cell door, gripped the brat's throat, and lifted him off the ground as he gagged in desperation for freedom.

"I'm... S-Sorry! I... did... didn't... mean..."

"I don't care if you meant to or not! You trespassed into my castle and you're gonna pay!" he was no longer in control of himself as he tightened his hold on the boy's throat and saw eyes watered with pain.

"STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" Kagome shrieked. Hearing that shriek was just enough for Inuyasha to snap back into control. Once he realized what he was doing he dropped the boy who laid sobbing, sprawled across the ground. Kagome rushed to his side and pulled him close to her. "Oh Sota!" she said as she cradled him against her chest and he cried. Inuyasha took a step forward to get a better look at her face in this low light. Never had anyone been able to get him out of his demon state so quickly. Even his servants had trouble getting him to calm down. He had no idea how that happened, but as soon as he heard her cry out, as if she was being physically attacked, was enough to bring him to his senses.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled at her, wanting some answers. Kagome looked up at him and Inuyasha saw her gasp. Crap, he had walked into the light and now she could see his face.

He saw her hold her brother even closer to her. "Get away from us!" she said fiercely.

His demon side suddenly took over again; he growled and jumped at the pair. He grabbed the boy with ease and raised his clawed hand to attack. His demon wanted to see blood; it wanted to see the light fade from her eyes. But when he looked at her for the briefest moment, he saw a single tear fall from her eye. Once again, he suppressed the demon blood with his will. He didn't want to kill this girl and harshly pushed her away before he lost control again. She screamed as she was practically thrown against the opposite wall.

"Kagome!" he heard the brat shout. He wanted to shut the boy up; he picked him up with ease. If the girl didn't get back onto her feet, he had no idea what he would have done. She screeched at him, "WAIT!" he looked at her again, "Can you let him go? Please!" She begged. "Please, let him go! I'll do anything!" Inuyasha didn't want the girl to leave, but he didn't want to hurt her either. He flew back and looked her straight on the eye. "There is nothing that you can do!" He snarled. He turned and began walking away clutching Sota's shoulder painfully. "He's my prisoner."

"There must be something I can do," she pleaded with him. She then said, "Wait!"

He looked back at her but did not stop walking. He was afraid that if he stayed here like this then she would end up torn to shreds. "Please! Just wait!" she ran towards him yelling, "Please! You can take me instead! I'll take his place!"

That alone was enough to get him to stop, "Keh! You?" He stared at her in the eye as if she had lost her mind. "You would... take his place?" He questioned. He couldn't believe that this girl was willing to take her brother's place! Why would she do this?

"If I do… would you let him go home?" she said seriously.

"No! No Kagome, you can't do this! Hurry and run! Go home and forget about me!" the boy shouted. He kicked out at Inuyasha and started to struggle, but he hardly noticed; he was so focused on her and only her. She didn't back down as she stared into his eyes. He knew that she was serious. She really was willing to take the boy's place. This beauty would be willing to stay here with him; it wasn't until right then did he realize that he didn't want her to ever leave. He wanted her to stay here forever. And all he had to do to keep her here was to let the boy go. "Yes…" he said to her. "But you must promise that you'll stay forever."

"No Kagome don't do it!" her brother cried out desperately. His sister ignored him as she slowly walked forward. "Yes," she said holding her head up high, "but only if you promise to let him go and to never harm him again. My horse is outside in your courtyard, tied up at the fountain. Let him ride home and then forget all about him. Promise me this and you'll have my word as a priestess that I will stay here f…forever."

A priestess? So she was a priestess? Just like that Kikyo was. He was afraid now that she might put an even worse curse on him then Kikyo did; but he then realized that nothing anyone could do would be as bad as living like a beast. "Done!" he cried out. He had no use for the boy and he let go.

He dropped the boy to the floor, who then got up and ran to Kagome, crying. "No! Kagome, no!" he shouted as he flung his arms around his sister as she held him close to her, who was also crying hard. "Kagome you don't have to do this!"

Inuyasha had enough of this; he walked over, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away. "Wait!" cried Kagome.

"Kagome!" the boy yelled.

"Sota!" his sister cried.

"Please," the boy begged as he dragged him through the castle like a doll. "It's my fault! Don't punish her for it! I'll do anything! Please, find it in your heart to let her go!" Inuyasha didn't understand what was happening. First the boy begged him to let him go, then his sister comes along and wants to take his place, and now he wants to go back into his cell if he lets her go? Too bad, for the kid that the last thing that Inuyasha wanted was for Kagome to leave. Maybe… just maybe… she'll be the one to break the curse.

"PLEASE," the boy then yelled as they finally reached the courtyard. "PLEASE LET KAGOME GO! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! LET HER GO AND I'LL STAY HERE! PLEASE LET MY SISTER GO!"

He had enough of the boy yelling in his sensitive ears, "YOUR SISTER IS NO LONGER YOUR CONCERN!" he yelled just as loudly. He went over to where the horse was tied up; who was starting to go berserk. He grabbed the horse's reins and with one hand pulled it down to all fours before leading it over to the small carriage. He then tied the horse to the front of and shoved the boy inside. He then slapped the horse hard on the rear and it took off, pulling the carriage, whose occupant was screaming for his sister.

"Take him to the village," he growled. Once he made sure that they were gone, he turned around and went back inside the castle.

When he went in, he saw most of his servants had come out of hiding and were staring at him with wide eyes. "WELL?" he roared? "DON'T YOU ALL HAVE SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT TO DO?"

They didn't need telling twice and they scattered. He was about to go back down into the dungeons when Miroku suddenly made himself known. He looked angrier than he had ever seen him before.

"What?" he growled at him. Miroku merely shook his head, not even looking at him. "How could you do that?" he hissed.

"Do what?" Inuyasha snapped back.

"Don't you realize what you just did?" Miroku said furiously. "I know that you hardly have any control anymore… but still what you did was inexcusable."

"What the hell are you…" he began angrily.

"All that Sota wanted was some help! He just wanted to go home to his family! And then you come along and scare him half to death, knocked him out, and lock him in a dungeon. And then his sister comes here, looking for him and finds out that he's locked up like a criminal. And then you say that you'll let her brother go if she takes his place!"

"For your information! She was the one who suggested it!" he said still not understanding.

"That doesn't matter! Can't you see?" said Miroku exasperatedly. "Neither of them did anything wrong. And you go and tear a family apart! Don't you realize or even care that they'll never see each other again? What you did had to have been the worst thing that you ever done Inuyasha! Including getting us all turned into demons!"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to call Miroku something awful but he beat him to it, "At least offer her a room here! I can't stand the thought of a woman being locked away in a dungeon!" he turned and walked away, calling Inuyasha things that would make any mother wash his mouth out with soap.

Inuyasha took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his anger before he went back down to where Kagome was. He really didn't want to take his anger and frustration on her. When he felt that he was in control he went down, and entered the dungeons. He saw that she was in the cell where her brother was locked up; and she was up against the wall, all curled up, and was crying her heart out.

For a moment, she didn't realize that he was standing there, and he was just staring at her. Even when her face and eyes were all red, he felt that she had to be the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen… including Kikyo."What are you crying about now?" he asked carelessly, wanting her to stop crying.

She looked up at him with a dirty look before she answered, "You didn't let me even say good-bye! I'll never see him again, and I didn't even get to say good-bye!" she cried harder putting her face in her hands. It was then that he realized that Miroku had been right. He had done a terrible thing, but he couldn't let this girl go… not when she could be the only one who could break this curse.

He rubbed the back of his neck, as he was watching at her cry… he felt guilty… for the first time in his life. "I'll show you to your room." it wasn't much but he could at least make her stay comfortable. When he said it, it was in the softest voice he had ever used on anyone. Usually he just roared and snarled. She looked at him, a bit confused and startled.

"My room? But I thought that…"

"Look, do you want to stay in the dungeon?" he asked her harshly.

"No," she said shaking her head.

"Then follow me," he turned and left with her following behind.

He walked down the hall with Kagome right behind him. He could see out of the corner of his eye that she was staring around at the ugly/creepy statues and paintings that littered the huge hallway. She was so focused on them that she didn't notice the two demons that were lurking in the shadows. Miroku andShippo were both following close behind, Inuyasha noticed it when he heard Miroku whisper "Well say something to her moron!" he disregarded the 'moron' bit and did as he was told.

"By the way...my name… is Inuyasha," he said suddenly. He saw her mouth the name slightly; that was a good sign right?

Inuyasha continued, "I hope you'll like it here," he looked at Miroku who made a gesture to keep going, so he went on quickly. "The castle is your home now so feel free to go anywhere you want... except the west wing." He saw her looked up at him, confused and she started to ask, "But why can't I-"

"It's forbidden," his words echoed through the hallway in a menacing tone. He saw her flinch slightly, but quickly hid her fears. He turned around and continued walking, feeling slightly sick that he scared her. Neither one of them said another word until they stopped outside a large door. Inuyasha opened the door for her, "Now," he said as she walked in. "If you need anything, my servant's will attend you."

He heard Miroku whisper to him again, "Dinner, ask her to dinner" he encouraged, as he looked at the back of her head.

"You will... join me for dinner...that's not a request!" he slammed the door, slightly embarrassed, boy was he inexperienced to inviting a girl to dinner!


	6. The Dinner Party Sort Of

**Chapter 5- The Dinner Party (sort of)**

Kagome sat there and cried for some time, a lot had happened to her in just one day! In the past few hours, she had been proposed to by two morons, been scared half to death in the forest, had lost her dreams and her freedoms, had become a servant, AND to top it off been invited to dinner by a horrible demon! Maybe this was all just a simple dream to which she would wake up to if she merely pinched herself.

"Ow!"

Nope. Not a dream.

She sat up for the first time on her new bed, it was quite comfortable... she might be able to get used to this... get used to living in a scary mansion...get used to living with a repulsing demon... nope, never mind.

She looked around at her new room since the first time she walked in, it was dark for some reason, why was it always dark in the... oh wait...the curtains weren't open. At that moment she felt a bit dense, none the less continued to peer through the room. Unlike most of the rooms it was quite clean, there was not a hint of dust on the fine, wood carved tables, nor a spider web at any corner of the neat sea harbor green walls. The floor was a dark marble, freshly polished, and she had all oak wood furniture. The curtains were a creamy white color with a slight scrunched up texture and her bedspread was a dark blue with tons of pillows. It was a really nice looking room. It was then that she heard a knock on the door, "Who is it?" she said sadly. "Sango," replied a female voice. Sango? Oh, she must be one of the servants that lived here. "Come in," she said. The door opened gently and a woman's head looked in. Kagome stood up quickly, "your…"

"Sango," said the woman as she walked in carrying a small try of tea. She wasn't alone though, she was with another woman, a tall man dressed all in purple, and 3 children. They were all demons.

"The woman called Sango laid the tea tray on the bed and said, "Thought you needed something to help. This is a special potion that is used to calm the nerves. My name is Sango," she then introduced Kagome to her friends behind her. "This is Miroku," she gestured towards the dog demon in purple who bowed respectively. "This is Ayame," gesturing towards a young wolf demon woman. She had long orange hair tied in pig tails and was wearing a dress that looked like wolf fur. She smiled good-naturedly at Kagome and waved before Sango went on saying, "This is my little brother Kohaku," pointing to a shy looking boy, "Shippo, and Rin." The small fox and dog demon both smiled and walked forward.

"Told you she was pretty, Ayame," said Shippo jumping up onto Kagome's lap and said "Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Shippo what's your name? Where're from? How did you get here? What's your favorite color? How old are you? And do you want to be my friend?"

He said all of this so fast that Kagome couldn't help but smile, "Ahhhh, I'm Kagome, I'm from a small village a little ways from here, I rode here on a horse, I really like green, I'm 17, and sure."

"Yea!" yelled out Shippo giving her a big hug; she then felt a small hand tugging at her sleeve. She looked down and saw that Rin was tugging and she asked, "Do you want to be my friend too Kagome?" she was so cute and sweet that Kagome couldn't help but smile even wider and nodded. "Yuppie!" she cried giving her a hug also. Ayame, Sango, Kohaku, and Miroku all smiled at that.

Sango sat right next to her and said, "That was a very brave thing you did, Kagome."

"We all think so," agreed Ayame. "And we're sorry about what happened."

"But…" whispered Kagome sadly, "I lost my brother, my family, my home, my freedom … everything."

They all looked at her with the same sad expressions. They knew that this could be the girl who could set them free from this terrible curse, but they felt terrible for her. They wanted to do whatever they could to make her smile again.

"Don't worry," said Sango smiling gently. "It will all work out alright in the end," Kagome looked up at her, "Just wait and see." Sango put her arm around Kagome's shoulders and held her like a big sister would. Kagome felt herself relax, and the terrible emptiness inside seem to fill up very slightly.

They all sat like that for a little while, until the boy Kohaku tugged on Miroku's sleeve and whispered something to him. Miroku nodded and said, "We should go. It's almost dinnertime. Ayame?" Ayame smiled and went over to the large wardrobe that was in the room and the others got up.

"We'll see you later, Kagome," said Sango smiling gently. "We have to go. Things will work out somehow, I promise." Kagome nodded as Sango, Miroku, Kohaku, Rin, and Shippo all left the room.

"Well, I was told that you are going to dinner!" said Ayame cheerfully. "No offense, I'm not letting you leave this room looking like that!" she was gesturing towards Kagome's clothes as she said that.

"Why?" asked Kagome with a sly grin. "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"Oh nothing!" said Ayame. "But I've seen cleaner clothes. Let's see what I have in here…" she went rummaging through the wardrobe until she pulled out a frilly pink and purple dress, "Yes, you'll look beautiful in this!" she tried to give it to Kagome.

"Um...I'm sorry but, I'm not going to dinner," she said politely. Ayame was shocked.

"What?!" she cried out.

Suddenly the door opened, it was Shippo, "Excuse me... I was told to get you for dinner?" he said.

* * *

-Downstairs with Inuyasha were Miroku and Sango-

Inuyasha was pacing up and down between a large fireplace and the dinner table. "Where is she? What's taking her so long!" he growled at them.

"Oh, try to be patient for once in your life Inuyasha!" said Sango. "Kagome has lost her family and everything else in one day. Give her some time to get used to everything here."

"She'll probably be here in a moment! Calm down!" Miroku reassured calmly. Then Miroku decided to push his luck and asked, "Inuyasha... have you thought about that perhaps this girl is the one to break the curse?"

"Oh course I have!" Inuyasha snapped. "I'm not stupid!"

"Good," he said sounding more cheerful. "So… you fall in love with her… she falls in love with you and then… the curse is gone. We'll all be free in a matter of hours!"

"Oh, shut up Miroku," snapped Sango. "Just because you like every pretty girl you see, doesn't mean that everyone can fall in love. It's not that simple… falling in love with someone can take some time."

"But the jewel is more than halfway complete," said Miroku sounding worried.

"It's hopeless," said Inuyasha in a soft voice that took them both by surprise. "She...so…so beautiful. And I'm...well look at me! I'm the monster that is the cause of all of her pain!" he hung his head in self pity.

"Oh, now don't say that!" Sango piped in "Once she's calm down, I'm sure that she'll get used to this place eventfully. You just need to help her see that you aren't a monster."

"I don't know how," he snarled.

"Well, first of all you just need to change your attitude," she said getting up and forcing him into the large chair at one end of the table. "Yes," put in Miroku. "You need to let her know that you aren't always such a bad guy."

"Let her know that you want her to be happy here."

"Be patient with her."

"Speak calmly towards her."

"Get to know her."

"Try to understand how she feels."

"But don't go to fast."

"Go slow."

"Give her space."

"Respect her."

"And the number one thing that you must remember, YOU MUST CONTROL YOUR DEMON SIDE!" they both yelled at him, that did it, he was confused. Suddenly the door opened.

"Right on time..." Miroku chuckled, but instead of Kagome it was merely Shippo walking in, a terrified look on his face, "Ah, hello?" he said trying to sound cheerful but sounding more petrified than anything else.

"Well?" Inuyasha growled. "What's taking her so long?"

"Who?" asked Shippo trying to sound stupid. "Oh, right… Kagome… well she's… in the process of… do to circumstances beyond our control… her, the eh...um...well, you see, these things for girls, um...take time and uh… she says she's not coming." Shippo flinched.

"WHAT!" roared Inuyasha? He dashed out of the dining room, through the hallway, up the stairs, down three more hallways, to the right, to the left, down one more hallway all the way to Kagome's room with Miroku, Sango, and Shippo running right behind him. He banged on the door, "I TOLD YOU TO COME DOWN TO DINNER!" he yelled. The other three behind him were shaking their heads with exasperated expressions.

"NO THANKS," Kagome yelled back through the door.

"IF YOU DON'T COME OUT THEN I'M GONNA… I'LL...I'LL…I'LL…" he yelled, and then Miroku got into the conversation.

"Inuyasha," he hissed quietly. "I don't think yelling and banging on the door will win the girl's heart, do you?" Inuyasha glared at Miroku. "But she won't listen," he hissed back.

"Gently," whispered Sango. "Ask her gently."

He knew that they were right, which he hated dearly. He took several deep breaths to calm his demon blood before he lowered his claws to his sides and said through gritted teeth "Will you come down to dinner?"

"No," she said flatly. Inuyasha gave them all nasty looks, though Shippo urged him to continue. "Keep trying," he hissed out.

Sango quickly advised him, "We say please."

"Please," he said flatly.

"I RATHER STARVE!" she yelled. And once again, Inuyasha couldn't control his temper, "YOU CAN'T STAY IN THERE FOREVER!" he yelled.

"HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO BET?!" she yelled back.

"Fine! Then go ahead and just STARVE!" He roared, no literally roared as his voice echoed around them. He could feel his demon blood fighting for control again, so before he lost it he turned to Miroku, Shippo, and Sango, "If she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat at all!" and left the hallway.

For a moment they didn't say anything, "That could've gone better," blinked Sango.

* * *

Inuyasha went storming up to his room, knocking over everything that was in his way in the process. "She's such a stubborn…" he said to himself angrily. He couldn't think of a word to call that girl.

He climbed out the window and gracefully leapt from window to window until he was right outside Kagome's room. He could feel his demon blood start to surface again as he looked in. She was sitting on the bed, right besides Ayame, with their backs to the window; he didn't know what he was about to do, so it was a good thing that he heard Ayame say, "Inuyasha really isn't all that bad… he has his nice side too. Why don't you get to know him?"

"I don't wanna get to know him!" said Kagome loudly. "I don't want to be anywhere near him!" she started crying again. Inuyasha felt his anger subside, as he watched her cry. Ayame put her arms around her and started talking in very gentle, soothing words; but nothing she said seemed to comfort the suffering girl.

Inuyasha then slowly went back the way he came. He ignored the freezing cold air as he easily climbed the walls and leapt from the windows; finally he was back on the balcony of his own room. "It's no use," he said in a hopeless voice. "She'll never see me as anything… but a blood-thirsty demon." He walked back over to the small jewel that floated behind the glass and saw that it grew again. The growth was so small that a human could never see it, but his keen demon eyes saw it clear as day. "I'm just fooling myself. There's no hope left at all."


	7. Life in the Castle

**Chapter 6- Life in the Castle

* * *

**

Kagome had refused to come out of her room for the rest of the night. Even when the sun had risen and was high in the sky—she didn't so much as poke her head around the door.

"I'm beginning to think that she won't ever come out of there." Ayame had come out and was telling the others, except Inuyasha. "She just sits there and stares at the wall and hardly says a word." Ayame shook her head, "I'm really starting to worry about her."

"I'm more worried about Inuyasha!" said Miroku. "I went upstairs this morning to see how much damage he did when he stormed off last night… and I saw that he hardly smashed anything! He was sitting on his balcony and staring off into space… I've never seen him so calm before after he had an episode like last night. I was sure that he was going to bit off my head and eat it when I went to check on him—and he barely looked at me!"

Shippo was staring at him with his mouth wide open. "Are you for real?" he asked in amazement. "You know I was wondering why I didn't hear a roar of anger this morning. I thought that he would still be upset after what happened last night."

"I know," went on Miroku, who was starting to pace. "I barely recognized him! I tried to talk some sense into him, but after awhile he just started to ignore me!"

Sango looked up from the book she was reading and said, "Forget Inuyasha! What about Kagome? I feel so bad for her… isn't there anything that we can do to help?"

They all thought about that for a moment until Rin jumped up and said, "I know! We can bring her some food! She hasn't eaten anything since last night and I'm sure that she must be starving! I noticed that people are so much crankier when they haven't eaten."

"You heard what Inuyasha said," said Kohaku. "If she doesn't eat with him then she doesn't eat at all."

Sango stood up, "I don't care! I'm with Rin, let's make some food."

"But if Inuyasha finds out then we're all dead!" whispered Ayame. Miroku suddenly stood up and said, "Why don't we wait a little while longer? See how they both feel after awhile. If Inuyasha still says that she's not allowed to eat then we'll sneak some food in for Kagome?" they weren't happy about it… but they all agreed that it was the best plan of action. "In the meantime," said Miroku, "I think that we should give them some time alone."

* * *

_-A little later-_

The sun had slowly begun to set and Kagome opened her big doors very quietly. She poked her head out slowly and looked around; everything was still, no one was outside in the hallway. Good. She crept through the hallways and down the stairs into the kitchen, making sure that Inuyasha couldn't see her.

_'Why does Inuyasha have to be so, so...mean...and rude...and harsh...and, and...just...a jerk? I didn't do a thing to him!'_ she thought bitterly. She wandered through the castle, but looking back every few seconds to make sure that she wouldn't get lost. This was hands down the creepiest place that she had ever been. Around here, it looked as if it was always night time; there were cobwebs and dust that covered the ugly stone statues and terrible paintings. This whole castle practically screamed out 'gloom and doom' to her.

She wandered around her for a long time until she came to a pair of large, double doors. When she opened the door, she could see that she was in the kitchen, and she found Shippo and Sango talking. She got to hear only part of the sentence Sango was saying, "- control his temper, he'll never break-" but Shippo interrupted her when he heard something behind him.

When he turned and saw that it was Kagome, he gave her a wide smile and yelled out, "KAGOME!" he then ran up and jumped into her arms to give her a hug. "I didn't think that you were ever going to come out of your room! I was so worried that you were never going to talk to me again." Kagome let out a quiet laugh as she returned the hug. "It has nothing to do with you Shippo," she said gently. "I would never stop being your friend. Especially, when you give me hugs like this."

"Hello Kagome!" said Sango walking over. "I am glad to see you out—are you alright now?" she asked nervously, then when she figured Kagome had no idea to what they were just discussing she seemed to relax.

Kagome had opened her mouth to tell her, when her stomach had done it for her.

Sango smiled wider, "What? You hungry? I don't blame you. I don't think that you've eaten anything in 2 days." She walked over to another door and shouted into the next room, "Come on, Kohaku! Let's get our guest some food!"

"But… weren't you all told not to get me any food?" asked Kagome uncertainly. She overheard what Inuyasha had yelled at them all before he went storming off. Actually, she wouldn't be surprised if people heard if from her village.

Sango replied unconcerned, "Inuyasha says a lot of things Kagome, besides we can't let you starve, can we?" she then immediately started pulling things out of a large pantry and started mixing things together; while Kagome looked at her with a strange look on her face.

Sango, however, had noticed this, "You're nervous about being around, us demons?"

Kagome was startled before looking down at her feet, ashamed, "Sorry," she said meekly.

"I understand if you are nervous," Sango admitted, sounding almost amused, "I- we are used to it."

"Nervous?" asked Shippo confused. "Kagome why are you nervous about us?" The little boy cocked his head in question, "Are you afraid of us?"

A demon was afraid that **she** was afraid? She gave him a huge smile, "It's just…I've grown up hearing about demons being fierce monsters, but I guess… The village tales were wrong."

"I have a tail!" The boy cried excitedly, "See?" He turned around, wiggling his little fox tail at her. Kagome couldn't suppress it. Kagome was thrust into gales of laughter, clenching at her sides for support.

The little fox boy joined in laughing and hopped onto Kagome's shoulder, "Not all demons are bad. And there is a lot more too every demon than meets the eye. Look at me, I'm a fox demon, but I used to be a…"

Sango cut him off by picking him up, "Okay Shippo. I'm sure that Kagome would like to have her food by now." Kagome felt her jaw drop and began to water as Sango placed a whole ton of food right in front of her. She hoped that she didn't eat everything as fast as she thought she did… and it was the most delicious food she had ever tasted.

"Ah, Kagome?" asked Shippo uncertainly. "Have you ever had a decent meal?" Crap, she did eat everything as fast as she thought she did. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and said, "Sorry. I didn't realize just how hungry I was. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday." Kagome's smile faded as she remember eating that wonderful cake that he rescued from her 'wedding' and how she would never get the chance to finish it with her family.

Sango put her clawed hand onto Kagome's shoulder, "Like I said last night… everything will turn out alright. It usually does in the end." Kagome was able to give her a tiny smile and put her own hand on her shoulder to grasp Sango's. Shippo leapt back onto her lap, "Yeah, don't forget you have us here now! And we want you to be happy here."

"Thank you," she said. At that moment, the doors opened to reveal Miroku and Ayame who appeared to be arguing. "All I'm saying is that someone was supposed to be keeping an eye on the door!"

"Well, how was I to know that she…" they both shut up when they saw Kagome sitting at the table with Sango and Shippo. "Never mind," said Ayame. She gave Kagome a smile before saying, "Next time, let me know when you leave your room. We were worried that you disappeared."

"Sorry," replied Kagome. "I just didn't want to sit still anymore. But I'll tell you went I leave next time, promise."

Once Ayame seemed satisfied she looked at Shippo, "Shippo? Come on, it's our turn for cleaning." Shippo let out a very loud moan, "Already?! Do we have too?" nevertheless, he jumped down from Kagome's lap and said, "We can play together with Rin later right?" he asked her, giving her great big, sad eyes. Kagome felt herself smiling; she nodded. "Once you're done cleaning, then you can pick what we play."

"Yes!" he cried out and hurried after Ayame. As soon as the two of them had left the room, Miroku leapt over as if he was a child who was promised a big treat. He looked Kagome up and down before he grabbed a hold of her hand as asked in a sincere tone, "My beautiful lady…"

She leaned back, as far as she could before standing up, pulling her hand away with a disgusted look on her face.

Miroku then broke out of his stupor, "Please forgive me my lady. I could not help but stare at your beauty." He took a few steps until he was standing at her side. "Would you do me the honor of bearing my chi…"

He was abruptly cut off as Kagome grabbed his hand and began pulling his thumb back as far it would go. Her father had taught her that trick when she was 7, and she used it on Hojo and Koga to get them to leave her alone. She usually kept pulling back until she either broke the thumb… or they start begging for mercy.

"Don't think I couldn't see your hand," Kagome said as he was rubbing his hand over his thumb and she dusted off her own.

Sango raised her eyebrows, "Wish I thought of that. You wouldn't believe how many times, he tried to grab my butt." She shook her head, "I'll remember that the next time he tries something."

As he cradled his hand, the girls heard him whimper slightly. He tried to hide it by asking, "Where did learn how to fight like that?"

Kagome's expression darkened slightly, "My father taught me and my brother how to fight. He thought that everyone should learn how to defend themselves." They all knew that they had it a touchy subject. Thankfully, Kagome gave them all a cheerful smile, which scared them almost as tears do, she said, "Sango, can you help me out with these plates?"

"I apologize for Miroku's behavior," Sango apologized to Kagome, as they cleaned up the table. She looked behind them as he was trying to get see if his hand still worked, "I didn't think that he would be dumb enough to go after every pretty girl he sees."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. Miroku reminds me of a saying my mother once told me. It goes something like _Man has will, but woman has her way_." Kagome replied.

Sango doubled over laughing. "That fits him perfectly!"

They both started laughing as if they'd been best friends for years…

* * *

_*After they finished cleaning up*_

"And so!" said Sango. "Miroku was looking at these really beautiful women… and he was starting to flirt with them. But he didn't realize until after he asked them to _'bear his children,'_ did he realize that they weren't women… but men who looked like girls!"

Kagome was laughing so hard that she couldn't stand up on her own anymore. "He asked a bunch of men to bear his children?" she laughed, starting to hiccup.

"Jeez," said a grumpy Miroku. "I made a tiny little mistake, and suddenly I'm branded for life."

Sango turned to look at him, "Well, you did deserve it! You think that you would've learned your lesson that day. But nnnnnnnnnoooooooooooo. You just do not get it, do you?"

Shippo suddenly scurried into the kitchen and leapt onto Miroku's shoulder with a nervous look on his face. "Hey, Shippo," said Miroku in surprise. "I didn't think that you would finish this early. Why…" he stopped talking when Shippo urgently, began to whisper in his ear. Miroku had gone very pale before he plastered a forced smile on his face.

"Well, this was fun!" he said in a higher voice than usual; and Kagome noticed that his eye was twitching slightly. "But, I think that it's best if we... you know… all turn in early."

Sango wiped her hands on a small towel before looking at him with confusion in her eyes. "Miroku, what are you…" her eyes widened. In that second she understood… Inuyasha was in pain again. As of late, periods of him being in pain had become more common and lasted longer than they used to be. She dropped the towel before she also put on a creepy, false smile and said, "Come on, Kagome. Let's go back to your room and we can talk some more."

Kagome was surprise on how her friend's moods had changed so suddenly. "What's wrong?" she asked as reasonably as she could. "It's my first time being in a castle inhabited by demons you know..."

"Eh...wh-why don't you want to go back to your room?" Shippo asked trying to stay calm. He hid his hands behind his back and gave Miroku a hard nudge in the elbow as if saying 'Talk some sense into her' and plastered an innocent smile on his face. "Yesterday, you said that you would rather stay in there forever."

"I know. But… it sure would be nice to get a look around…" Kagome trailed off.

Shippo piped up at this "Would you like a tour?" This time, he was the one who had a hard nudge in the elbow by Miroku. "Now now I'm sure we can find something else to do right?" said Miroku, he then lowered his voice to Shippo, "We wouldn't want anyone snooping around at the worst possible moment would we? Someone could get hurt..."

"Get hurt from what?" Kagome asked curiously.

Shippo jumped and blushed, "Oh well I can't say...!" Miroku then gave him a small punch in the shoulder. "I guess we can take a quick tour," he said. He was trying to distract her from the question. He bowed and offered Kagome his arm. She raised her eyebrows before accepting his offer, but she gave him a warning, "Keep your hands to yourself if you want to keep your fingers."

He gave a light laugh, but she could hear the nervousness in his voice. They walked through the many halls and the hundreds of room; it was so easy to get lost in this castle. Miroku, Shippo, and Sango were all talking about shortcuts, and how to find your way easily. Shippo would occasionally point to a suit of armor, or some kind of small space throughout the castle, that were his hiding places.

They had just entered a room with white and black checkered marble floor and a long red and gold carpet descending down the hall, the walls were painted a sandy gold color and there were about fifty suits of armor standing up, one line on the right, the other on the left. Something had been bugging Kagome ever since Inuyasha had leaded her to her room the night before.

"Miroku?" she asked. "Why did Inuyasha give me a room? I thought that he was going to keep me down in the dungeons like he did with my brother. Do you know why?" she noticed that his eyes had made contact with Sango's in a worried way before answering. "We were the ones who suggested it. I just couldn't bear the thought of a beautiful woman, locked away like a criminal. I merely suggested that he should give you a room of your own."

"But then why did he want me to come to dinner last night?" she asked confused. "Why me?"

Sango was the one who answered this time, "Because, Inuyasha may be stubborn, rude, hotheaded, and a total jerk sometimes. But he does have his nice side also. He's puts on this big, tough-guy act to try to hide the fact that he's a total softy underneath."

"Yeah, I mean…" Shippo cut in, "He's a good person… er… once you learn to overlook a few things. Like his personality, his appearance, his manners, taste in clothes, no sense of humor what-so-ever, and that breath! He's…" Miroku placed his hand over Shippo's mouth to shut him up. "What Shippo's trying to say, is that once you really get to know him then he's not as bad as you first think. Like Sango said, he's nothing but a big softy underneath that hard-nose exterior."

He then began to point out how there was a secret passage that leads from this room all the way back to the kitchen. Shippo then jumped in at that time and said that he uses it all the time. But Kagome wasn't really paying attention; she pretended to listen as she thought more about Inuyasha. Was it true? Or were they just saying that? It was then that something that her dear mother once said to her when she was younger. 'We all wear our defenses. But if you can pierce through the hard cold armor, what you'll find is something soft and warm.'

Maybe things weren't going to be as bad as she first thought. Maybe if she could learn to look past the armor, or rather fortress that Inuyasha had built around himself… maybe… just maybe… she could discover the good that her new friends could see.


	8. Seeing a Torn Family

**Chapter 7- Seeing a Torn Family

* * *

**

Inuyasha had been depressed all day. He didn't leave his room since he went storming off the night before. He merely stayed on his balcony, watching the sun rise and set; he seemed to be lost in some kind of trance... the words that Kagome had said in her room were echoing inside his head… _"I don't wanna get to know him! I don't want to be anywhere near him!"_

He was so lost in thought, that he hardly notices Miroku sticking his head around the door. He just looked behind him to see who it was, before turning back to stare outside. He went back to staring out at the horizon; staring but not really seeing it. He then noticed that Miroku hadn't left yet.

"What?" he asked in an annoyed growl.

"Nothing," said Miroku in a calm voice. "I just wanted to see how much damage had been done. You've surprised me. I thought after what had happened last night, that there wouldn't be a single thing left standing in this room. And yet I've notice that you barely smashed anything. You aren't yourself. Is something wrong?"

"Isn't it obvious?" growled Inuyasha bitterly. "She doesn't want to get to know me. She doesn't want to be anywhere near me" He grinded his teeth together as he said all that.

"I've never seen you act this way before, do you think she's the one?" Miroku observed. "I mean do you really believe that she's the one to break the curse." Miroku explained. The old Inuyasha somehow managed to gain control and began to speak.

"Of course I've thought about it! Do you think I like being stuck with my demon half controlling me! I've been in pain so much more lately. It's becoming harder and harder to keep my temper under control…"

_"We've all noticed,"_ thought Miroku.

"My pain has become so much more intense… I don't know what to do now Miroku… if this keeps up then…"

Miroku put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, "Don't give up just yet. We still have time, so you two got off to a rough start, that doesn't mean that we can't fix it. But you… you need to…work on your attitude a bit if you want her to fall in love with you." Miroku commented.

"Attitude? What attitude? There's nothing wrong with me." Inuyasha asked. He continued when he saw him roll his eyes. "Name one thing wrong with me." He challenged.

"You're violent, short-tempered, and harsh. That's just to everyone. To her you've been worse. Do you want more?" Miroku said. At this he just growled. But Miroku had an idea… something that he had been wondering… "You know…" he said trying to make conversation, "if it turns out that it's too late for you… then maybe someone will take her off your hands."

Inuyasha's ears twitched in a harsh way. And Miroku knew that he was angry; he decided to push his luck and went on, "I mean she's beautiful, kind, brave, and loyal. I'm surprised that she isn't already taken… who know maybe she already was before she got here." Inuyasha's ears twitched again… Miroku knew that he was putting himself in a great deal of danger, but he had to know for sure.

"If you two can't get along then maybe I'll…" he didn't get a chance to finish.

Inuyasha whirled around, grabbed Miroku by the collar, and lifted till he was eye to eye with Inuyasha. "Don't you dare touch her," he said so menacing that even the bravest would have turned tail and fled. "If I even suspect that you tried to touch her you won't have to worry about becoming human." Inuyasha spoke in a feral growl.

Miroku merely, brushed his hand away from his front and said, "I was gonna say that I'll be willing to take her back to her family. If it's too late, then there won't be any more reason to force her to stay here. You don't need to worry, my heart belongs to one person alone." His eyes then went all glazed over as he thought about, who else? Sango.

"You're just turning things around," snapped Inuyasha. He walked out onto his balcony again, and Miroku could tell that he was about to jump down. "Where are you going?" he asked calmly.

He turned to give Miroku one last, nasty look before saying, "To get some fresh air!" With one last warning growl he jumped from his balcony and leapt gracefully from roof, to wall, to windowsill, until he finally landed on the ground. He had to get out of the castle for a little while; he needed to be alone. He hit the ground running and sprinted off towards the dark forest. His kimono and silver hair flew wildly behind him as he swiftly disappeared within the shadowed trees. He ran, not looking back, until he was alone in the middle of the forest.

_*Later*_

Inuyasha had been running through the forest for a couple hours now. Every once in awhile he had to get out of the castle to just do what he wanted. During these times he would run, relax, hunt, and explore every inch of the wood. He was always careful not to go too near a village however; incase he lost control and slaughter someone innocent. At the moment he was sitting in tall tree that resided in a secluded area. It was high enough so he could see any unwanted visitors and since there was a breeze he could smell anyone for miles.

He leaned back against the bark of the tree, and breathed in all the wonderful scents around him. As he closed his eyes to really enjoy the soft breeze… he saw her face…

He sat up and his eyes snapped open. _'Damn it!'_ he thought to himself. Her face again! Her face was stuck inside his eyelids, every time he blinked, she was there. He couldn't get her face out of his head… her voice out of his ears… her scent out of his nose…

"!" he yelled out at the top of his lungs making all the animals that were in the area turn and run. He was losing his mind… why couldn't he stop thinking of her? Why couldn't he stop thinking of her? He jumped from the tree and started to run again. He needed solitude. He needed to be alone. He needed to run some more.

He ran off faster than he had ever done in his life; and he had run much further than he ever dared to go. He flew by; he was so fast that all that you could see was a red and white blur. As he ran, he could feel his mind going blank. Feeling the wind on his face and hearing its sound blaring in his ears.

By the time that he finally stopped he was on the edge of the dark wood. He leaned up against a tree and tried again to clear his mind of_her_, now that he had stopped running. But he might as well have tried to stop the tides for all the good that it did him. He had turned to start running again when another, familiar scent had washed into his nose…

Salt…

Salt from tears? Someone nearby was crying… scratch that… a bunch of people, nearby were crying. Not just salt though… he recognized that runt's scent…

Kagome's little brother was nearby.

He decided to go and see what was with all the tears.

_*He had run in the direction of the tears for a few minutes until he was perched in a tree outside a small farm… or as he thought it was, a dump*_

It was the tiniest house that he had ever seen. He couldn't believe that people would actually live in a dump like this. It was a small house made of a light wood, the roof was thatched, and there was an old and worn-down fence that surrounded the large barn that was attached to the house. Tied at the fence was the horse that belonged to Kagome…

So this was where she used to live? In a dump like this? He took a deep breath… and he could smell Kagome's sweet scent from all over the farm… yes she defiantly used to live here. All of a sudden, the front door opened and a woman came out. She looked to be about in her thirties and she had Kagome's hair… she could only be Kagome's mother.

She was crying into the small apron that she was wearing over a tan kimono. She walked down the front steps until she reached the bottom; she then sat down and sobbed into the apron. Yep, she was definitely Kagome's mother; she cried the exact way that Kagome did. Two others then came out a second later.

The boy he recognized immediately as her little brother. And there was a very old man that had to be her grandfather. The males then walked down the steps to sit with the mother and Inuyasha had realized that the tears that he smelt were coming from them. They were all hugging and crying together as they sat on the stairs.

Inuyasha was just wondering what they were all blubbering about when the mother spoke, "I c-can't b-b-believe that m-my little girl is…"

"Mom, I'm sorry!" howled out the boy. "I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"Listen!" yelled out gramps. "Kagome is strong! She's a priestess! She can take down any demon, so she should be back any day now!"

"But grandpa, she gave her word as a priestess that she would remain at the castle forever!" said Sota. "You know that a priestess cannot go against her word. The only way that she can leave the castle is if that demon _chooses_ to let her go." He then broke out in tears.

The mother just continued to sob into her apron, and gramps was pacing up and down in front of them as he wiped the tears that were in his eyes.

Up in the tree, where they couldn't see him, Inuyasha felt sick to his stomach. If there was one thing that he hated more than not being able to stop thinking of Kagome, its Miroku being right. He had torn a family that loved each other, apart. He felt so bad that for a brief moment he was tempted to go back to the castle and let Kagome go… at least until he came back to reality.

He understood how these people felt… if Kagome left his castle… he smacked his face, hard. What is he thinking? Why is she constantly in his mind? Why does he feel this way? WHY?!

He leapt from the tree and started to run again as soon as he hit the ground. He needed to leave this place—he needed to stop thinking.

_*Later when the sun was starting to sink*_

He had run through every corner of the wood, until he ended up back where he started. He slowly walked up the castle as he felt the sun's light beginning to fade away. All the running had finally worn him out, and he was looking forward to going to sleep. With a little effort he leapt up from the ground and started to climb the walls. As he climbed he could feel the temperature continuing to drop and the clouds overhead were looking threatening. He could smell snow on the wind.

He hated snow. Ever since that woman came to the castle on that winter's night, he despised the snow.

He finished his climb and landed gently on his balcony. He leaned up against the wall for a moment before casting a sad eye to the glowing jewel, floating up in down in its case. He was just deciding to go down to eat when suddenly it happened…

Pain… oh the pain… it was getting worst the more that time goes by. He grabbed hold of his stomach before he fell face first onto the floor. Miroku had told him that from time to time, his demon blood would suddenly rise up and fight with his human soul. The pain that would come from this battle was the most painful thing that he could ever be put through. As of late, this violent pain had been coming more and more. And they were getting worse.

Imagine, being burned alive, being stretched out on a medieval rack, beaten with a spiky club, having thousands of needles being pushed into him, and his internal organs feeling as if they were being dumped in acid. Good, then you have some idea on how much pain that Inuyasha must go through whenever one of these, let's just call them episodes, happen. The worst part is that when he's like this, he's demon side is the one that is in control. If someone were to bother him when he's in pain… he could end up killing them by accident. Everyone knows that it's for the best to just leave him locked in his room during these times.

He then heard a small knock on the door, "Inuyasha?" called out a voice that he immediately recognized as Shippo's. "Inuyasha are you in there?"

"S-S-Shi-Shi-Shipp-Shippo!" Inuyasha forced out. He didn't want to hurt anyone. "R-r-run!"

_(Shippo's Profile)_

Outside, Shippo was able to hear Inuyasha's order. He wanted to know what was going on so, being the curious fox demon that he was, he leapt up to grab the doorknob and looked through the keyhole. What he saw made him go white as a sheet.

Inuyasha was on the ground, holding onto his chest and stomach. He was curled up into a ball, and has gasping for breath. His whole body was shaking and his eyes had become just one solid, blood-red color; he was starting to cough up blood. He shook rigorously, his teeth clenched, as blood dripped from between his teeth and onto the floor. Shippo had seen this enough times to know what to do. He knew that when Inuyasha gets like this, then he should run and tell the others. He was also told not to go near him, he had to stay as far as possible, because Inuyasha is hardly in control anymore and he might end up slaughtering the next creature he sees.

He didn't waste any more time. He leapt down from the door to race downstairs to tell Miroku. But in his hurry, he forgot to lock the door…

* * *

He raced down as fast as his little legs could go until he scurried into the kitchen and leapt onto Miroku's shoulder.

Everyone was looking at him in surprise, "Hey, Shippo. I didn't think that you would finish this early. Why…" he stopped talking when Shippo urgently, whispered in his ear, _"Inuyasha is in pain again." _Miroku had gone very pale before he plastered a forced smile on his face.

"Well, this was fun!" he said in a higher voice than usual and having one of his eyes twitching slightly. "But, I think that it's best if we... you know… all turn in early."

Sango wiped her hands on a small towel before looking at him with confusion in her eyes. "Miroku, what are you…" her eyes widened. In that second she understood and dropped the towel before she also put on a creepy, false smile and said, "Come on, Kagome. Let's go back to your room and we can talk some more."

Kagome looked surprise and worried. "What's wrong?" she asked in a reasonable voice. "I know that it's my first time being in a castle inhabited by demons but..."

"Eh...wh-why don't you want to go back to your room?" Shippo asked trying to stay calm. He hid his hands behind his back, and gave Miroku a hard nudge in the elbow trying to tell him to talk some sense into her and plastered an innocent smile on his face. "Yesterday, you said that you would rather stay in there forever."

"I know. But… it sure would be nice to get a look around…" Kagome trailed off.

Shippo brightened up immediately, he wanted to show her around the castle. "Would you like a tour?" This time, he was the one who had a hard nudge in the elbow by Miroku. "Now now, I'm sure we can find something else to do right?"

Miroku whispered to him, "We wouldn't want anyone snooping around at the worst possible moment would we? Someone could get hurt..."

"Get hurt from what?" Kagome asked curiously.

Shippo jumped and blushed, "Oh well I can't say...!" Miroku then gave him a small punch in the shoulder. "I guess we can take a quick tour," Miroku cut in. Shippo was only a kid but even he knew that Miroku was trying to distract Kagome. Miroku then got up, bowed, and offered Kagome his arm. She raised her eyebrows before accepting his offer, but Shippo heard her say, "Keep your hands to yourself if you want to keep your fingers." He couldn't help but smile when he heard the Miroku gave a nervous laugh.

Shippo was the one who lead the way, as they walked through the many halls and the hundreds of room. He, Miroku, and Sango pointed out the shortcuts, and how to find your way easily. Shippo would occasionally point to his favorite suit of armor, or some a hole in the wall, and told Kagome that they were the best hiding places.

They had just entered a room with white and black checkered marble floor and a long red and gold carpet descending down the hall, the walls were painted a sandy gold color and there were about fifty suits of armor standing up, one line on the right, the other on the left. Suddenly, Kagome asked, "Miroku?"

Shippo looked up at her curiously. "Why did Inuyasha give me a room?" she asked him. "I thought that he was going to keep me down in the dungeons like he did with my brother. Do you know why?"

Shippo looked up at Miroku with a worried look before he heard him say, "We were the ones who suggested it. I just couldn't bear the thought of a beautiful woman, locked away like a criminal. I merely suggested that he should give you a room of your own."

"But then why did he want me to come to dinner last night?" she asked in a confused voice. "Why me?"

Sango was the one who answered this time, "Because, Inuyasha may be stubborn, rude, hotheaded, and a total jerk sometimes. But he does have his nice side also. He's puts on this big, tough-guy act to try to hide the fact that he's a total softy underneath."

"Yeah, I mean…" Shippo cut in, "He's a good person… er… once you learn to overlook a few things. Like his personality, his appearance, his manners, taste in clothes, no sense of humor what-so-ever, and that breath! He's…" Miroku placed his hand over Shippo's mouth to shut him up. "What Shippo's trying to say, is that once you really get to know him then he's not as bad as you first think. Like Sango said, he's nothing but a big softy underneath that hard-nose exterior."

Miroku then began to point out how there was a secret passage that leads from this room all the way back to the kitchen. Shippo then jumped in at that time and said that he uses it all the time. But when he looked up at Kagome… he saw that she was lost in thought and that she wasn't listening to a word they were saying.


	9. Run!

**Chapter 8- Run!

* * *

**

"Now, if you go down this way, you'll find the… uh…Kagome? Where are you going?" When Miroku caught sight of Kagome walking up the staircase that lead to the west wing, his eyes widened in pure shock, as did Shippo's and Sango's. The three of them sped up the stairs with almost a comical dust cloud at their heels to block her way.

"What's up there?" Kagome asked innocently as they stood in front of her.

"Oh nothing," said Miroku quickly. "Nothing that you will find interesting. Now let's all go back!"

"Yeah," agreed Sango. "We have the rest of the castle to see."

But Kagome was still trying to peer up the stairs. Her mother had said that she was too curious for her own good.

"What are you hiding up there?" she asked.

"OH NOTHING! We aren't hiding anything Kagome!" Miroku reassured with a nervous tone.

"Then it wouldn't be a problem to go up there..." Kagome took a step up the red carpet stairs, almost immediately the three of them were on the step ahead of her, blocking her.

"There are so many other places in the castle. Don't you want to see them?" Shippo pleaded. Kagome took another step forward, and the trio was right in front of her in an instant again.

"Yeah," said Sango. "Would you like to see the dining room…?" Kagome took another step forward, they took two steps forward.

"Or the balcony…" another step forward, another two steps forward

"Or...or the library… the gardens… or how about the ballroom?!" Miroku pleaded, that got her attention.

"You have a library?" she stopped dead. "And gardens? And I've never seen a ballroom before!" The three of them all said a handful of thanks to whoever was in charge up there, as they tried drawling her away from the staircase

"Yes, yes! We have tons of books!" Shippo exclaimed. "And we have a giant greenhouse inside the castle here!"

"It's warm all year round!" Miroku said while put his arm around Sango's shoulders and started heading down the hall in front of Kagome.

"It's filled with flowers all the time. It has some of the most beautiful flowers from all over the world!" said Sango.

"And I can't wait to see the look on your face when you see the ballroom! It's so big and… Kagome?" Shippo stopped and turned around.

But Kagome was long gone by the time they noticed her lack of presence.

"OH CRUD!" the three of them yelled.

* * *

Kagome tip-toed up the last few steps of the staircase and was currently walking into an old, dark, filthy room. The floor was littered with scraps of cloth, splinters and...glass? Never mind that. Kagome shuddered at the broken mirror at her left and continued through the room. She had just had to come here, it was killing her to walk away, an abnormal wave of curiosity had struck her and now here she was. In this scary dark room. With God knows what.

She walked down the hallway until she reached a pair of large, double doors. They were dark and stained with what looked horribly like blood. Kagome was just about to turn and run back down the hall when she heard a terrible cry. She heard a whimper and cry of agony… as if there was an animal in pain. She didn't want to do it, but she was too curious for her own good. Not only that, but if there was one thing that she couldn't turn her back on someone when they needed help.

Feeling a little nervous, Kagome hesitantly walked forward up to the doors, and very quietly poked her head into a room. The room was very similar to the hallway; it was dark, filthy, shredded. There was a large 4-poster bed that looked as if something with claws had torn it to shreds. There was also a balcony straight across the room that was open with the curtains fluttering in the wind, and moonlight flooded into the room. Everything was bathed in a eerily light.

"Hello?" she cried out quietly as she stepped into the room. The walls were wooden and had various swords hanging on them. She swept her gaze around the room; there were big swords, small swords, fancy show swords and swords that looked like they needed to be thrown out. The room was spacious and it looked like some kind of dojo.

Her eyes landed on one specific sword. It was small and rusty, but it held her attention for some reason. Looking at the nameplate, she read:

The Tetsusaiga

She was about to reach out and touch it, when she noticed something beside the sword. She came to a stop at a small hand-painted picture that was lying right next to the Tetsusagia. Ever curious, Kagome picked it up and dusted the thick layer of dust of it. She could tell that the picture was of a very beautiful woman. She had a heart-shaped face, with long hair, and dark eyes. She also had a gentle smile and looked like that she was a very kind woman. She was sitting on the edge of a large fountain in the middle of a stone courtyard. The fountain looked uncanny like the fountain that she saw outside, where she tied up her horse. Except that it was of an angel instead of an ugly gargoyle. Creepy.

But what was even creepier was a small child that looked no older than 8 or 9 years old that was sitting right besides the woman. He was dressed all in red, and he had the woman's arms wrapped around him in a gentle hug. She was holding him close to her heart.

He had long silver hair and...were those dogs ears?

_'Oh he was so cute!'_ she mentally shrieked. She looked harder at the small boys face, _'That's weird,' _she thought._ 'He has the same kind of clothes that Inuyasha wears, and ears, and hair.'_ Her favorite thing were his eyes, they were gold. Small glowing, golden orbs, they held so many emotions that she couldn't pinpoint particularly what he was supposed to be feeling, she just wished she could stare at them all day long.

_'He looks like a younger version of Inuyasha… but…'_ There was that name again, and now that face. Kagome smiled.

_'Where have I seen you before...?' _She raised her hand to trail up to the child's face, and traced out along his right eye, then down his cheek, then to his lips. It was then that she realized that this child wasn't a full demon… but a half-demon. She stared at the two faces in the painting, until a strange light caught her eye. She carefully put the painting down where she found it before turning her attention to where the light was coming from. There in the center was an extravagant- yet small, white marble table, in the middle of the table was a glass dome, shining in pink, was a mostly compete jewel. But one of the most amazing things about it was the jewel was levitating! Floating in mid-air! Kagome scrambled over to it quietly and took off the dome- which now she realized was considerably large, and gazed at the jewel for a moment. Then, ever so slowly, she raised a hand to touch it and...

"What are you doing here!" yelled a voice that she knew all too well. Inuyasha, had leaped out of the darkness, grabbed the glass dome, and quickly put it down on the jewel. Kagome, slowly backing away, trembling and stuttered a reply, "I...I'm sorry… I was just…"

All of a sudden, Inuyasha fell to the floor. He grabbed hold of his stomach and began to shake, as he started to cough blood. He was letting out labored breaths as if he couldn't breathe, and then he curled up into a ball on the floor clutching his chest and stomach. He shook rigorously, his teeth clenched, as blood dripped from between his teeth and onto the floor.

Kagome was frozen in place. She didn't know what was happening to him, but she couldn't let him suffer like this. No matter who he was or what he did to her… she couldn't stand by and watch someone in this much pain. She dropped to her knees right beside him and put her hands on his shoulder.

"Are you alright? What's happening?" she asked him in a panicked tone. She had never seen anything like this; she had no idea what to do. He then pushed her aside roughly. She fell on her backside as he suddenly stood over her with his eyes glowing with hatred. His eyes had become just one solid, red color and looked as if he had lost all of his senses. He started to snarl and growl like a crazy, wild animal. Kagome couldn't say that she wasn't afraid.

She had never known fear like this. It wasn't until that point did she realize that she was finished. The look in Inuyasha's eyes told her that he wanted her dead. He craved for her death. She tried to push himself off her, but he had her pinned down with his arms. He was breathing harsh, and blood dripped through his teeth; a few drops fell onto her face. She normally could have gotten him off her easily, just by purifying him. But she can't do anything with her arms pinned.

He let out another snarl as he then raised his claw right above her. It was all over for her. She saw her life flash right before her eyes. She saw her house and her family… she saw her dear father before he died from a demons poison. She saw her beautiful mother waving and smiling at her, her grandfather wandered around the house, telling his stories. And her dear younger brother… just being there for her.

Kagome closed her eyes; she wanted her family to be the last thing she saw in this lifetime instead of a blood-thirsty demon. She then heard a sickening sound… as claws dug into flesh… she could feel warm droplets hit her face… but she didn't feel any pain at all.

She opened one of her eyes to see what was going on… and stared. Inuyasha had dug his other hand into the claw that was going to kill her. (Like in the third movie) His face was distorted with pain and concentration as he was forcing the claw that was right above Kagome's throat away from her. It was almost as if his right arm had a mind of its own, and was determine to kill Kagome, but she could see that he was fighting back with everything he had.

Suddenly, he was off her and had rammed himself into the opposite wall. She sat up quickly, and pushed herself as far as she could away from Inuyasha.

"GET OUT!" Inuyasha roared while he once again rammed himself into the wall. Knocking swords from the shelves and the walls in the process; he then bit into his arm so hard that he drew blood. "RUN! I CAN'T SAY WHAT I'M GOING TO DO NEXT!" how he was able to say anything while his teeth were cutting deeper into his flesh. Wham! He then rammed himself into the wall again, "GET AWAY! RUN! GO NOW!" every word sounded like it cost him a huge effort.

Kagome was too stunned to move. She had no idea what was going on. Was she going to die or not? First he made it clear that he was going to kill her, now he seems to be fighting with something inside him. Like this something… was the one that wanted her dead, and he was just trying to protect her…

"RUN!" he roared so loudly that she thought that her eardrums might've burst. All of a sudden, he leapt up and pushed her to the ground. No, he pushed her to the door, away from him.

Kagome groaned as she heard a crack. A crack that indicated that one of her bones was broken. She looked at her left wrist before immediately closing her eyes in disgust. It was bent at an odd angle that no wrist should be turned at. A white bone poked through her skin and her hand was numb.

But she couldn't worry about that now.

Kagome heard another angry snarl. Only this time it didn't sound like it came from Inuyasha. She then felt someone kneel down right next to her. Kagome opened her eyes to see Miroku struggling to force Inuyasha back. Kagome gazed at the scene wide-eyed before she felt something poke her shoulder. She turned to see a Sango with panicked, brown eyes.

"We have to get out of here," she said urgently. "Miroku can't hold him off for long."

Kagome looked at her saviors with a stunned expression. Nevertheless, she nodded and got to her feet, cradling her injured wrist with her good hand.

"This way," Sango said, tugging Kagome gently through the doors and down the dark hallway. Kagome didn't protest as Sango marched her into a room with a thick, heavy, wooden door and then closing the door but not locking it. A few minutes later, Kagome saw why. Miroku had rushed inside and bolted the door with about ten locks. Kagome could hear angry growls and scratches on the other side of the door. Kagome let out a sigh of relief.

Sango rushed towards Miroku, "Are you okay, Miroku?" she asked worriedly.

Miroku flashed a small smile, "I'm fine, Sango. Though I must admit, having you worried about me almost makes me wish that I could bleed more often," he said with a light laugh.

Kagome looked around the room. This must have been the ballroom that the others had talked about before she decided to sneak off. It was an enormous room that was walled with mirrors and chandeliers that hung off an impossibly high ceiling. Kagome gasped again as she stared at the ceiling. It was painted more beautifully than the Sistine Chapel. (Just imagine the most beautiful things that you had ever seen in your life. And imagine them in art form, but as if they were painted with the very nature of magic. To Kagome, that was what it looked like.) But the room was covered with dust and darkness. When she finally did tear her gaze away from the ceiling, she looked at Miroku.

He had turned his head to look at her and she could clearly see a deep gash on the right side of his face. It ran from underneath his hair to the base of his neck. It was frighteningly close to his right eye. Kagome's eyes widened.

He could have gone blind! All because of me…

But then Miroku spoke. "It seems like our new house guest is much worse off than I am," he said, turning his gaze to Kagome's damaged wrist.

Kagome had almost forgotten about her injury. At Miroku's words, though, the pain spread across her wrist with the intensity of fire. Shippo suddenly appeared out of nowhere and leapt into her arms. "Kagome!" he cried out with tears falling down his face. "Why did you leave like that? I thought for sure that Inuyasha wouldn't be able to stop himself from killing you!"

Kagome held him with her good arm before looking at Miroku and Sango with wide, terrified eyes. "What is going on?" she asked. She didn't realize that she had been shaking. "What is happening to Inuyasha?"

Miroku and Sango looked at each other for a moment saying, "You better sit down. It's a long story."


	10. Explanations

**Chapter 9- Explanations **

"A…curse?" Kagome echoed in disbelief. She and the others were all sitting on the ballroom floor as Sango tended to Miroku and Kagome's wounds.

Sango nodded, "This all happened about 7 years ago." She let out a long sigh, "Though it feels longer than that."

"I'm don't… " Kagome began, but Sango held her hand up.

"It's okay, my mother already explained it to me a long time ago...before she died."

Kagome looked at Sango in shock. "Oh Sango, I'm so sorry," she said sadly. Kagome knew what it was like to lose a parent at a young age. She had been ten when her father was killed by the poison of a demon that he had killed.

Sango gave her a tiny smile. "It's okay; I've learned to deal with it." She quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I'll tell you the entire story now."

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Seven years ago… during a freezing, winter night an old beggar woman came to castle door. I don't remember much about her, except that she was very ugly… except for her eyes. She had beautiful, glowing blue, eyes. She came to the castle to ask Inuyasha to allow her to stay until the storm had passed. In exchange, she offered a jewel that she claimed would change his life forever."

"A jewel?" repeated Kagome stunned. "You mean that jewel I saw in Inuyasha's room?"

Sango nodded, "The very same."

"But…" began Kagome, trying to make since of all this. "But that jewel, wasn't complete. There were shards missing."

Sango let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, it has grown quite a bit in the last 7 years." Sango's eyes turned a mixture of sadness and pity. "Inuyasha was so repulsed by the old woman's appearance that he just laughed at the jewel and turned her away. She then warned him that things aren't always what they seem. I remember her saying that appearances can be deceiving, and that true beauty lies within. But Inuyasha merely turned her away again. It was at that moment that the old woman's ugliness had melted away until, a very beautiful priestess stood there."

"A priestess?" repeated Kagome in amazement.

Sango gave her another sad smile. "Yeah, in fact you look a lot like her. She said that she was the priestess Kikyo. She had come to the castle because she wanted to see if Inuyasha was someone who doesn't care about how others look, but for who they are. She came to test him, and he had failed. Because he had judged her for how she looked, not who she was, and she said that she would punish him because of that."

Kagome gulped, "So what did she do?" she asked, though fearing the answer.

"Kikyo said that she felt that there was something, deep inside Inuyasha's heart that has yet to become free and she intend to bring it out," said Miroku. "She had decided to give him another chance. And so she placed a power curse on him and everyone else in the castle. She turned him into a true demon."

"Ok, I'll ask," cut in Kagome. "What do you mean by 'true' demon?"

Sango smiled. "That is much farther ahead in the story, but yes. The Inuyasha in the story is the Inuyasha that you encountered earlier. Right now he's a demon, but in this stage of the story he is a half-demon."

_'Half-demon? So does that mean that the little boy that I saw in that painting is… him?'_ thought Kagome to herself. She just nodded and motioned for Sango to continue.

"Inuyasha was the ruler of the castle. His father had died from severe wound the same day that Inuyasha was born and his mother had died from some, unknown illness a few years later."

Kagome started to tear up. How awful it must have been for Inuyasha to lose both of his parents when he was so young.

Sango was still talking. "Inuyasha had been very close to his mother and her death molded him into an angry and bitter young man. He never allowed anyone to get close to him and he despised humans. He had built a strong wall around his heart, and so far, he hasn't let anyone beyond it."

The painting had once again appeared in her head. She remembered the woman who sat on the fountain as her young son sat right next to her. The way that she had her son close to her… close to her heart…"So what did the priestess do?" Kagome breathed.

Sango shook her head. "She laid a spell that would forever change Inuyasha and everyone around him. From that moment on, he had been turned into a true demon. She had made it so that he could act mainly on instinct. His demon blood controls most of his actions. He can still maintain his thoughts but most of the time… he's barely in control of his own body. All the servants in the castle were all turned into demons too. We, on the other hand are still in control."

"You are all under a curse?" she asked looking at them.

Miroku nodded sadly, "We all used to be human. But this curse had turned us all into demons. When the curse on Inuyasha is broken, then the curse on all of us will also lift."

Sango then said, "The priestess had given Inuyasha a small fragment of the jewel that she had offered. He has until the jewel becomes completely whole to break the curse. If he can find a way, by the time the jewel is complete… then we will all be free."

"The priestess left after she had given him the jewel," went on Miroku. "As soon as she had gone, the beautiful castle had turned dark. And just as she had said, Inuyasha had become a whole demon. The transformation was painful for him and all he could do was curled up on the floor, shaking and cringing, trying to block out his pain. The rest of us had also changed into demons, although we felt no pain."

"But…" said Kagome. "What does that have to do with what happened just now? Why did he try to kill me?"

"It's not his fault," answered Sango sadly.

Shippo had come over carrying a small bowl of water and bandages. "Sometimes, he gets like this. It's best to stay as far from him as possible."

"You see," interrupted Miroku as he shot Shippo a dark look. "Because of this curse, the demon blood in him reacts violently with his human soul. From time to time, his demon side tries to take over."

"I still don't understand," Kagome murmured, rubbing her temples with her forefingers.

Sango chuckled in sympathy. "Basically, right now, his demon blood is fight for control of the body and, as I'm sure that you could tell, it's a very painful experience. When Inuyasha is like this, he can't tell the difference between friend and foe…he'll just kill anyone on sight."

Now she got it. The curse was forcing him to suffer in terrible pain, and to attack anything that he saw. For some reason, that made Kagome feel better. She was glad to know that he wasn't attacking her for anything that she had done.

"Inuyasha stopped himself from killing me though," she said. "I couldn't move. He could have killed me easily; but he stopped himself."

Sango nodded. "I'm not surprised. Like we told you, Inuyasha isn't all bad. He didn't want to hurt you, which was why he told you not to go into the west wing. He was afraid that if you went in there when he was like that, then he might accidently kill you."

"So," said Kagome slowly. "He was protecting me back there?"

"Yeah," answered Shippo. "He may not act like it but he really does care about you."

The other two nodded in agreement. "Shippo's right," said Miroku. "You have some kind of power over him."

"Power?" asked Kagome. "I'm a priestess yes, but I haven't used any spiritual powers on him."

"Not spiritual powers," Sango said. "When he went storming off last night, we all thought that he would still be angry this morning. But when we went to check on him… his eyes had grown unbelievably calm."

"So?" said Kagome still not getting it.

"So?" repeated Miroku who started to sound annoyed, "The fact that you can calm Inuyasha down like that, meant that you could calm down his demon side! You were able to bring him back to his senses and make him 'almost' docile. In fact, he thinks that you are the last chance he has to break the curse."

Kagome felt her jaw drop yet again. "Me? What can I do? How do you break the curse?"

The three of them all looked at each other with worried expressions. "I'm afraid that we can't tell you, Kagome," said Sango. "But we know what must be done. We just want to let you see things from Inuyasha's point of view. Try to understand his position. Why he acts like this, and why he didn't want you to go into the west wing."

"Is that why he wants me here? And why he refused to attack me? Because I might be able to break this curse?" asked Kagome.

"Well, that's defiantly part of the reason," said Miroku and she noticed the strange smile that appeared on his face as he said that. "But recently noticed another reason. But I don't think that even he has realized it yet."

"What reason?" asked Kagome.

"That's not the point," he cut in. "The point is that you've become the last glimmer of hope that he has left. And he is willing to do whatever he can to protect you." Kagome became lost in thought, as Sango went back to work on her wrist. Is it true? Did he really want to protect her? No matter, she understood him better now, and she wanted to do what she could to help.

"That's another reason why we don't stray from outside the woods," said Shippo. "We're afraid that if anyone comes along, Inuyasha might lose his mind and go after them. So we try not to leave the castle.

Kagome was shocked. "What do you do for food and water?"

Sango laughed at her expression. "You'd be surprised at how many wild animals there are around here. And remember we told you that there are gardens here? Well we have plenty of food to last for years to come. We also get our water from a river nearby." Kagome nodded. "Anyway, did you understand everything I said?"

Kagome looked thoughtful. "I think so. In a nutshell, Inuyasha made a priestess angry, the priestess put a spell on him that causes him pain and he's barely in control. He has to find a way to break the curse by the time that the jewel is whole then. And he now believes that I might be the one to help."

Sango nodded in approval. "Yes."

"Wow, he doesn't have much time left to break the spell," she said, remembering how big the jewel was.

Sango nodded and gently lifted her arm into a sling. "All done. Sorry, but this is the best I can do with the materials around. One of us can get some herbs later to dull the pain. When Inuyasha is… I guess I should say 'normal' again."

Kagome smiled at him. "You did fine, Sango. Don't worry, I've felt pain much worse than this. My spiritual powers should be able to heal it fast." she then looked over Sango's shoulder and said, "Why don't you treat Miroku's wounds? And…" she looked down at her feet and said, "I'm sorry. I should never have gone up to the west wing. I was just curious and…"

Shippo merely jumped into her lap and hugged her. "That's alright Kagome! We forgive you!"

"Besides," said Miroku. "I know how frustration this must be for you. It's also our fault for not telling you why it's dangerous to go into the west wing."

"Speaking of which," said Kagome. "How long is Inuyasha like this?"

Sango shrugged, "That depends. Sometimes, it's only a few minutes, other times, it can take days."

"DAYS?" asked Kagome in horror. "He has to suffer like that for days?"

"Sometimes, yes," she answered. Kagome felt her heart sink. Ok, there was no way that anyone deserved to suffer like this that has been known to last days. She wanted to help him, and she felt sad to know that she didn't have a clue to how.

Noticing the sad look on Kagome's face, Miroku said cheerfully, "Be happy, Kagome! At least you are not doomed to be stuck in this castle…with no children of your own," he said, looking at Sango. "Speaking of which, Sango, would you bear my children?"

Without batting an eye, Sango promptly slapped him in the face as hard as she could. "Nine hundred and ninety-eight," she muttered, as Miroku fell to the floor.

"Nine hundred and ninety-eight?" Kagome questioned.

Sango nodded. "Yes, it's the nine hundred, ninety-eighth time that he's asked me that. Give it a rest, Monk!" she yelled.

Shippo looked mildly amused.

Miroku sat up, rubbing his face. "My precious Sango. You wound my heart," he said dramatically.

"Well, we all suffer life's little tragedies, don't we?" Sango said dryly.

_*The Next Day*_

Kagome came too. She had fallen asleep on the ballroom floor, right beside Shippo. She quickly sat up and winced as she felt the stabbing pain in her wrist. Her memory of last night came back in full force as she looked around her. She could see that Miroku and Sango had left the room and the door was wide open, so she was sure that Inuyasha must have returned to his old, rude self.

_'I mean why else would they leave the door open for an insane demon?'_ she thought to herself.

Careful not to disturb Shippo, she got up and went out the door. She looked down the hallways to see that they were empty, and left.

She had walked through the halls and rooms, trying to find someone. But so far, no luck; which was just her luck.

She wandered down two flights of stairs and through some rooms until she finally found someone. She was going to walk right pass the room when she heard a slight cough. She stopped and doubled back to see what had made the noise. She opened the door, just a crack, and she peered inside. Inuyasha was sitting in a large armchair, resting.

He looked terrible. His long, white hair was all matted and bloodstained. He looked thin and weak as he rested. He was dripping in sweat and breathing hard as if he had run miles. His right arm had deep, punctured wounds and the blood was still bleeding freely. Kagome was just wandering what to do when he opened his eyes. She could see that his eyes had lost that bloodlust that they had last night, his face looked much calmer than she had ever seen, and she knew that he was back to 'normal'. He then shut his red eyes and seemed to doze off.

She opened the door a little wider and stepped in. She knew that this was probably not her best move, but she wanted to help him. She wanted to help to take away some of his pain and suffering, and to let him know that things were going to be alright. As she stepped into the room, he didn't even budge. He hadn't notice her yet. She took a few steps towards him and she noticed a small washcloth and bowl of water on the table next to the armchair.

She took a deep breath, walked over to the table, grabbed the cloth, and leaned over him. Waiting for him to wake up.

Inuyasha opened his eyes slowly then shut them as tight as possible as dizziness and blinding light attacked him all at once. After a few seconds he tried out a different approach and slowly blinked his eyes opened to stare into a warm chocolate glaze. Kagome was leaning over him with a small washcloth. And…

… was that worry in her eyes?

Looking at Kagome had made him smile if not only for a moment before an entirely different sensation swept over his right arm—pain.

"Ow! That stings!" he whimpered in pain, violently shooing away her damp washcloth and clutching his injured arm. She grabbed his unwounded arm and set it aside to look at him with a frown, "It's going to get infected if I don't clean it!"

Again, Inuyasha tried shooing her away but this time with no effect "It's perfectly fine the way it is..." he mumbled but let her have her way...this time. He cringed in pain and sucked in another deep breath as the warm cloth met his bloody arm. Finally after two painful minutes of cleaning the wound she wrapped it up in another dry cloth and gently patted it before setting it down to look for other wounds. All the while she hummed a peaceful tune.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked her confused. "I thought that you hated me."

"And I thought that you hated me," she replied calmly. She then went back to tending his arm. "By the way… thank you. For protecting me." And when she looked at his eyes, she could see the pain and torment that was inside him. For a brief moment, she could see his feelings as easily as if he were an open book. All of his feelings were dark and turbulent like raging storm clouds… she knew that was true for every person to some extent… but with him… they seemed rather extreme. Not that she blamed him.

Inuyasha saw how much care she put into helping him and realized how bad he had been to her these past few days. He realized how unfair it was to her, how such a good person she was, and how she would have to live with such a monster for the end of her days without any contact with her friends or family. And he realized the incredible fact that even though she was put through so much, she still wanted to help him. That realization made him want to kick himself.

"Kagome?"

Kagome stopped wrapping his arm and looked over towards his face "Yes Inuyasha?"

He smiled up at her and reached out to touch her shoulder "Thank you."

She smiled back down at him and all anger she ever had toward his bad behavior vanished, though she didn't quite know what he was thanking her for, she decided to not ask. "You're welcome."

Sure, maybe that wouldn't make her forgive everything he'd done…

But it was a start.

**(I'm so sorry. This chapter was never put up. But i'm making up for that now.)**


	11. Getting Close

**Chapter 10- Getting Close**

* * *

For the next few weeks, things have become very calm. Kagome had been spending much more time with Inuyasha and her friends. She had starting eaten with everyone, and she had become much more agreeable. But she had made it clear, that she wouldn't take orders from Inuyasha, and if he wanted her to do something, then they would compromise.

Things had been much quieter since the night that Inuyasha had protected Kagome from himself. The others had noticed the change around the castle since that night as well. Inuyasha had become much more patient and calmer, at least when Kagome was around. They could see that he was really trying to change for her. And that had given them something that they hadn't have for the last 7 years… hope.

It had been almost 3 weeks since Kagome had come to the castle, and late one evening, she was talking to Miroku and Sango in one of the many living rooms. Shippo hurried over to the window and smiled in delight. "It stopped snowing! Let's go out and play now Kagome!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Kagome laughed. "Sounds good!" she replied. She was as excited as he was. Holding Shippo's hand, she pulled open the heavy door and exited the room, leaving Miroku and Sango to give each other 'What just happened?' looks.

Sango shook her head. "That Kagome…she's unique, but in a good way," she said, walking to the window and watched as her two friends went running out into the courtyard.

Miroku smiled in agreement as went to stand beside her.

"He can have quite the temper sometimes," Sango concurred. "I'm just glad that the poor girl wasn't scarred for life. I can't believe that she forgave him so easily."

Miroku regarded her seriously. "She knows that it wasn't Inuyasha's fault. Once she understood what is going on, she had become much more understanding. Not only that, but I think that when she heard that Inuyasha was fighting to protect her, she might have realized that he's not all bad after all." He was silent for a moment before asking her, "Do you think that she could be the one to break the curse, Sango?"

Sango was taken aback. "What?" she asked in disbelief. "I-I don't know…I know that she and Inuyasha had been getting along better. I think that they might even be considered as friends by now… but actually falling in love? I just don't know. You don't just start loving someone like that," she snapped her fingers as she said that.

"I understand." Miroku nodded. "But all the same…I guess we won't know until the time comes, now will we?"

"I guess so," Sango said sadly as the pair looked out the window.

It was a clear night. Sango could faintly hear Shippo's laughter, but that was the only sound that penetrated the peace and tranquility that the dark night housed. There were no clouds in the sky, only the bright, twinkling lights that were the stars. They shone brightly against the coal-black sky.

"It's so beautiful out tonight," Sango said softly, as though afraid to disturb the serenity of the night. She allowed a small smile of contentment to grace her features.

"It is," Miroku approved quietly. "I guess that only people like us can appreciate scenes like this."

"Miroku…"

Miroku turned to smile at her. "Sango?"

Sango blushed. "Nothing," she muttered, sitting back down in her chair. She moved a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear and smoothed an invisible wrinkle on her skirt. She closed her eyes and sighed, only opening them when she felt a warm hand on top of her own.

"Miroku?"

The monk smiled at her. "Don't look so sad, Sango. It hides your beauty," he told her seriously.

Sango's face felt like hot coals. "Miroku…I-" Suddenly, a dark look overcame her face. Narrowing her eyes, she swung her palm and slapped the monk as hard as she could. "Pervert!" she yelled, referring to the hand that had been on her rear seconds earlier.

He just had to ruin the moment…

Sango stood up angrily and was just about to walk away when she saw another figure. "Inuyasha," she greeted cheerfully, all traces of anger gone.

The said human only nodded at her, but Sango didn't mind. She knew that he was lacking in the communication skills department.

Inuyasha looked at Miroku. "I want to talk about the jewel," Inuyasha said bluntly.

Miroku's eyebrows rose in surprise but he nodded anyway. "Would you prefer to walk and talk or just sit here?"

"Here's fine." Inuyasha sat in an empty chair and stuffed his hands into opposite sleeves. He didn't beat around the bush. "I assume that you all know that we are running out of time?"

Miroku frowned at him. "Yes. I've seen the jewel, and I know that judgment day is coming soon."

Sango spoke up. "But we still have time. I'm not promising anything… but things have gotten better around here. So maybe…"

Miroku looked at her sadly. "We absolutely still have time. But you guys know as well as I do that nothing short of pure love will be able to break the curse." Miroku turned back to Inuyasha. "So, what else were you saying Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha looked sour. "Nothing. I just wanted to know let you know that it might be best if you guys stay away from me tonight."

Miroku's head snapped up in surprise. "Why? Are you having another attack?"

Inuyasha merely shrugged. "I don't know. But lately, I've been able to feel when one is coming. Sometimes, it's a false alarm… but… all the same. I think that it's best that you all stay out of the west wing tonight."

As the other two nodded, he stood up. "I guess I'll be going now," he said.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha turned and looked at Sango. "Yeah?"

Sango pressed her lips together and gave him a sad smile. "You never really apologize for what happened that night."

Miroku looked surprised. "He never said that he was sorry?"

"How do you know?" Inuyasha asked at the same time.

Sango rolled her eyes at the ignorant men before her. "Kagome never once said anything about you apologizing," she told the monk sarcastically. She flicked her gaze back to Inuyasha. "And I know you Inuyasha. Kagome was really upset and scared that night. So, I think that she'd appreciate an apology."

Inuyasha just snorted. "You obviously don't know me as well as you think, Sango."

Sango rolled her eyes again. "I know you well enough, Inuyasha. I'm just saying that the girl has done nothing to you and you treated her terribly in the beginning. I'm glad that things have gotten so much better around here. But considering that tomorrow is her birthday, and she is going to be spending it with us instead of her family, I thought that it would be a good present. You only turn eighteen one time." Without another word, she stomped off, muttering about going hunting.

"Kagome is turning eighteen?" Miroku asked stupidly. He pouted. "How come Sango knows everything that is going on and I don't?" he asked in a mock sad voice.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Must be a woman thing."

Miroku nodded. "True, they do spend a lot of time talking." His face became serious again. "If it is her birthday tomorrow, an apology would be a present that I'm sure she'd appreciate. See you later, Inuyasha." He hurried off to catch up with Sango.

"It's not her birthday yet!" Inuyasha yelled after him, but the monk just gave him a backward wave and kept jogging.

"Keh," Inuyasha muttered.

A musical laughter floated through the night air, coming from outside. Inuyasha instantly recognized it as Kagome's laugh, even though he hardly heard it.

He went to the window and looked out. Shippo and Kagome were building a snowman. Having nothing better to do, he headed toward the stable to see what Kagome found so funny.

He had not taken more than two steps when he heard an earsplitting scream.

* * *

Kagome threw her head back and laughed. "And what did he do?" she asked Shippo with a giggle.

Shippo grinned. "He started moaning and complaining about how Sango crushed his heart,'" Shippo said. He had just finished telling Kagome about a time that Sango had dumped a bucket of water over Miroku's head while he was sleeping, leaving him in wet clothes for the entire day.

Kagome was about to comment when she suddenly stiffened.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" asked Shippo.

"Shippo, be quiet for a minute," Kagome whispered, feeling tense. Shippo's eyes grew round but he nodded.

It was silent but Kagome could sense a demonic aura just outside the stable…and she couldn't shoot arrows with her wrist in its current condition. She closed her eyes to focus her powers manually –

And a powerful shriek erupted through the air.

Shippo screamed. "Kagome!"

"Shippo, get behind me," Kagome commanded sharply. He complied and Kagome raised her eyes to meet those of the demon that she had sensed.

Oh, great. It was a giant centipede demon. The upper half was that of a woman with 6 arms, and a mouth with razor-sharp teeth and long black hair. It was a mistress centipede. Normally child's play for her, but right now…the best that she would be able to do was protect her. She wouldn't be able to do any damage.

Closing her eyes and muttering an incantation, Kagome focused…and conjured a barrier around herself and Shippo. Mistress centipede swung 6 arms at the barrier, only to receive a shock of purification. Kagome tensed and tried to keep her only protection in one piece. The demon howled and cried out, "Wretched Child!" before striking the barrier again.

This time, Kagome could barely keep it in place. Fearing for her life and Shippo's, she resorted to a last measure. She screamed.

* * *

As Inuyasha jumped out the window, and lightly landed on the ground. He then ran in the direction of the scream. It didn't take him long at all to see the mistress centipede demon that had its back turned to him. He clenched his fists apprehensively. Where was Kagome? It had been her scream, he was sure of it. He shifted sideways, so that he wouldn't alert the demon, and then he saw her. A flimsy, pink barrier was protecting her and Shippo.

Instinctively, Inuyasha's hand came to rest on the hilt of one of his swords. Before he was cursed, he used to always use his Tetsusaiga. It had the power to slay 100 demons with a single stroke when he was half-demon. But he hadn't used since the curse had been used on him.

"Oi! Ugly! Take off the mask! Did you know that you're scaring people?" Inuyasha called smirking. The beast turned and grunted. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! You're pretty stupid, attacking a purification barrier like that," Inuyasha said.

It was true. The demon was already sprouting many purification wounds on her paws, head and belly. Apparently, it was trying to destroy the barrier with everything that it had, literally.

This'll be easy…

Inuyasha raced forward, raised his clawed hand but before he could use them, the demon swung its tail right into Inuyasha's stomach, sending him flying. Inuyasha cursed his stupidity and laid a hand over his abdomen. He could feel the warmth of his blood where the demon had scratched him.

"Bastard," he muttered.

The demon came at him again to finish him off. Inuyasha quickly moved to the side and plunged his claws into the belly of the centipede. It howled in pain and brought its jaws toward Inuyasha, in hopes of biting him in half. Unluckily for it, Inuyasha easily dodged it and was able to slice through it, destroying the body. After a long shriek of pain, it finally collapsed, dead.

"Nasty hag," Inuyasha mumbled again, touching his stomach.

"Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha looked up and saw that Kagome had dismantled the barrier and was rushing toward him. "Shippo! Hurry and get Sango and Miroku. Tell them that Inuyasha is hurt and we need some medical supplies," she said quickly, falling to the ground beside Inuyasha.

Shippo nodded worriedly and scampered off.

Kagome locked eyes with Inuyasha. "Take your shirt off," she commanded. "I need to see your injuries."

Feeling dizzy from blood loss and in no mood to argue, Inuyasha obeyed her and leaned against the wall of the castle, ignoring the snow. She looked at his stomach quickly before pressing his discarded shirt against it.

"It doesn't look deep, but we have to stop the bleeding," she explained.

"Keh," he said quietly. "It'll be completely healed by morning."

"Well, until then, we need to keep pressure on your wound," she said, pressing slightly harder.

Quiet ensued for a few minutes and Inuyasha was feeling hazy again. He could use a nap…

"Hey!" Inuyasha jerked. "No falling asleep! You need to stay conscious if you want to live," said Kagome forcefully.

Annoyed, Inuyasha looked at the young priestess. "Who says I want to live? Why don't you just let me die?" he asked coolly.

Kagome looked shocked. "You…? Why…?" Suddenly, realization dawned on her. "Oh, I get it…this is about the curse," she said quietly.

"Damn right it is."

Kagome didn't comment for a few seconds. She looked…sad. "I didn't think that you were the type to give up on something just because the odds were against you," she said softly, looking into his eyes.

"Don't think that I haven't tried to break this damned curse! I have searched for nearly 7 years for the cure! I have searched…!"

Kagome interrupted him. "Perhaps this isn't something that you can find by searching for it, Inuyasha. Maybe…if you stop searching for it…it'll come to you. Don't struggle so much, best things happen when not expected."

Inuyasha gave her a weird look. "You have no idea what you just said, do you?"

Kagome blushed. "It sounded good though, didn't it? It sounded like something that my father would have said," she replied with a giggle.

Despite himself, Inuyasha felt a small tug on the corners of his lips. "I have less than a year, Kagome. I probably have a few months…or weeks."

Kagome gave him a comforting smile. "Anything can happen in that amount of time, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's eyes hardened again. "Just because it can happen, doesn't mean it's going to," he emphasized. "I don't have what it takes to break the curse," he said, resting his gaze on her broken wrist.

Kagome blushed. "It doesn't hurt, Inuyasha, and you weren't yourself when it happened."

"Doesn't matter," he muttered. "That Kikyo should've purified me rather than left me living in hell."

Kagome felt tears behind her eyes but she held them back. "You are too strong to just die, Inuyasha," she said simply. "However…wishing for death is a cowardly thing to do."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a coward," he hissed venomously.

Kagome shifted her position. Without taking her hand off his stomach, she maneuvered herself so that she was leaning against the wall too. To Inuyasha's surprise, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I know you aren't," she said wearily. She sounded exhausted.

Inuyasha tensed.

"Relax," she muttered without moving. She shut her eyes, "I'm not hurt or anything. It's just that…that was the longest amount of time that I've ever held a barrier for and I'm tired," she said softly.

"Keh, I knew that," Inuyasha said, feeling stupid.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Kagome spoke again. "How's your wound?" she asked.

"It's fine," Inuyasha said gruffly.

"I'm glad," she said with a small smile. "Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you…for saving my life," she said, looking up at him and giving him a tiny, but grateful smile.

Inuyasha didn't know what to say. "…No big deal…"

At that, Kagome smile widened and she felt truly happy for the first time since she had arrived at Inuyasha's castle.

"…Please don't give up on yourself yet," Kagome pleaded softly. "I want to see you free from this curse just as much as you do," she said, laying her hand on his arm. "I've learned in a short amount of time that you don't always get what you want. And if you do get it, it isn't necessarily what you need. You just have to keep going…" She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Inuyasha? How do you break the curse? Maybe I can help?"

Unsurprisingly, he didn't answer. Why is it that no one will tell her how to break this curse and yet they seem to think that she has the power to break it? What does this have to do with her?

The feeling of her warm hand on his bare arm brought Inuyasha a sense of comfort and peace. He was just about to say something to her when he heard three sets of feet approaching. "Sango, Miroku and Shippo are finally here," he said, painfully standing up.

Kagome nodded. "I'm sure that they have some medicinal herbs that will take away the pain.


	12. Birthday Surprises

**(Sorry i've been having a lot of trouble with my computer lately.)**

**Chapter 11- Birthday Surprises**

_It was the end of winter, 5 years ago. The sky was all grey, it was snowing very lightly, and there was a cold breeze. No one was outside today. Except for a 10 year old girl, dressed in warm clothes and boots, but her heart felt as cold as the snow that she was running through._

_Kagome was running through her village. This could not be happening… there is no way that her father could be dying! She had to get home. She had to make sure that he was alright. She ran past the houses, shops, and farms. The only thing that was on her mind was to get back to the house… to see if what she had heard was true. She raced up the hill, and over a frozen brook, until her farm was in her sights. _

_All the curtains were drawn… that can't be a good sign._

_She climbed over the fence, almost stepping on a few stray chickens in the process, and went straight up to the house. As soon, as she was up the stairs, and burst open through the front door, she was completely out of breath. She looked around the small kitchen, and cried out, as she ripped off her scarf and boots, "Dad? Are you home?"_

_She heard footsteps coming from behind her. She turned, with a smile, expecting to see her father's face… but it was not her father. It was her mother that was coming down the stairs. Her mother's eyes were all red, and she could see the traces of tears… no…_

_"Mom!" cried out Kagome and she ran into her mother's arms. "I was in the village, when I heard someone say that father is dying! It isn't true is it? Please, tell me that what I heard is wrong! Father was perfectly healthy this morning!"_

_Her mother just held her tightly against her chest and was able to choke out, "Your father went out to deal with a gang of venomous demons. But one of them had bitten him… and the men couldn't get him back in time to deal with the poison."_

_Kagome felt as if her heart had frozen… she felt as if she couldn't breathe anymore…_

_Her father, her idol, the one person that she looked up to and trusted more than anyone else really was dying. _

_"Where is he?" she asked desperately. _

_Her mother just pointed to the stairs behind them and said sadly, "He's in our room. He's fading fast… but he wants to talk to you and your brother. Go now…" Kagome didn't need telling twice. She ran past her mother and down a hallway until she reached her parent's room. She then flung it open. What she saw nearly broke her heart._

_Her father was lying in bed with a large, wet cloth covering his forehead. He looked as if all of his energy had been drained and that the poison in him was giving him massive pain. His kind face was paler than the snow outside, and the smell of death was in the air. When he heard the door open, he turned his head, and his eyes shone brightly when he saw who it was, and he even managed a small smile for his daughter._

_Kagome took a step into the room, "Father?" she croaked out. She then realized that they weren't alone. Her 5 year old brother, Sota, had suddenly come out from a spare room, carrying a large bowl of water. He looked at Kagome with tear filled eyes and she knew that it really was true after all. She slowly walked over to the bed and stared at her father's face._

_"Kagome?" he said in deep, yet weak, voice. "Please open the curtains for me. I want some light in here." Kagome did as she was told, and slowly walked over to the only window in the room and pulled back the curtains. The room was then bathed in light. "Father?" she croaked. "I was in the village today."_

_"Oh?" he said kindly._

_"I was shopping in the bookstore, when one of the village men came in and said that you were dying…"_

_"Did he now? Word travels fast in this village," he said in an unconcerned voice._

_"I don't believe you!" yelled out Sota dropping the bowl, causing Kagome to jump. "It isn't true!" He cried out, as if hoping that his words would make it real. _

_"I'm afraid it is Sota," said their father, giving him a kind look. "My time in this world is over."_

_"Your time?" asked Kagome as tears fell from her face._

_"My time is up," he answered gently. _

_"But we need you here! Father! I don't want you do die!" Kagome knelt down on the side of the bed, and put her head on the blanket as more tears began to fall. _

_He smiled at his children as he gently began to stroke Kagome's head. "Nevertheless, the end must come for all living things."_

_"Are you serious about this?" asked Sota tearfully. "Are you really telling the truth?" _

_Their father just looked out the window before going on, "The seasons change just as the passing of time. We all have our destiny and that we all must move on. That's the way it is, and always has been. My time too has come. I can feel it drawing near, the way that a falling leaf feels the winter nipping at its heels." He looked at Sota long and hard before saying to him, "Sota, you've always tried so hard to be strong. You don't have to push yourself so hard. The best changes are the ones that come over time, and they usually turn out better than when you try to force them."_

_"So that's how it works?" asked Sota quietly, wiping his eyes on his sleeve._

_"In my experience at least," replied father. "Trust me, you will grow up to be strong man. But you must promise me that you will always treat your sister, and your mother right. You treat them like they are princesses. And every girl you meet from now on, you are to treat them like princesses. You are to **never** mistreat a girl, you understand? And someday, when you meet a girl that you know that you want to spend the rest of your life with, you make sure that you treat her with tenderness and respect. You are to love her and to treat her right."_

_Sota merely nodded as his father turned his attention to the crying girl. "Kagome," their father said. "You've always done everything in your power to help people. And for that, I am proud of you. But you can't always live your life to please others." Kagome raised her head to look into her beloved father's face. "Listen, Kagome. When you grow older, I know that you will become a very beautiful and strong woman. Many men are going to flock to you like a moth to a flame. But don't fall for the first pretty face, or the first man says that you are beautiful. If you are ever to marry, then I want you to marry for love. I want you to promise that you will only marry if you truly love them with all your heart. And they, in turn, must love you will all of their heart. I won't settle for anyone less than that."_

_Kagome nodded. Their father went on, "I put all my strength and all of my heart into raising the two of you. I want you both to be happy even after I am long gone. That is my final wish."_

_Sota couldn't take it anymore, he turned and ran from the room, as heart-breaking sobs came from his chest. Kagome watched her brother leave before she heard her father speak again, "The seasons change waiting for no one. People must also move on. That is the true way for all living beings in this world. That is the way it has always been and will always be."_

_"What will happen to Sota, mom, and grandpa?" asked Kagome quietly._

_"You are the eldest; I need you to take good care of them for me, Kagome. They need someone strong to help them through this."_

_For a moment she was silent. And then, "Father, I don't want you to go!" she yelled and taking hold of his hand. She then put her head back down on the bed as she continued to sob. "It's going to be so hard without you here! What if I can't do it? What if I can't take care of them? I'm not you!" _

_He then griped her hand tightly as he smiled even wider. "Of course you're not me, you're you," he said gently. "But you must have the same faith in yourself that I have in you." He the wiped the tears from Kagome's eyes, "Remember the past is behind us, but the future is before you." _

_"And if I lose my way?" Kagome asked, more to herself than her father._

_"Don't ever forget who you are Kagome. You will never fail if you can remember that. Never allow anyone to control or try to change you. There is so much you are destined for Kagome, you have something that many people look for all their lives, you are special and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. What you and your brother do from now on, you need to do it because you want too. No matter what you two decide to do with your lives, you have my blessings and my full support."_

_"Father… I'll miss you so much."_

_"I will miss you too, but never forget I will always be here," he touched her forehead. "And here," he gently pointed to her heart._

_She smiled lightly. "Father, do you think…I'll ever be something?"_

_"No darling," he smiled at her softly and stroked her hair. "You'll be everything and more." He then was able to put his arms around her and held her tightly. They sat in silence before her dad unwrapped his arms and pulled away, caressing her cheek as a loving father would, and then Kagome got up and walk towards the door. Her steps were slow and careful, her head still bowed with fresh tears streaking her eyes._

_"Ah," said her father's voice. Kagome turned to look at him and he was smiling as he gazed out the window. "See? The winter is already over," he said calmly. She followed his gaze and saw that a small robin was perched on a tree branch, singing a song._

* * *

Kagome's eyes snapped open and were greeted by a dim light coming from the large window.

"Father!" she cried out as she sat up looking around. For a moment, she didn't recognize where she was. And then everything had come back. She let out a sad sigh. It had been years since she had a dream of father… and then she remembered… 5 years… he had died 5 years ago today. On her birthday.

"Happy Eighteenth Birthday, Kagome," she said softly to herself before dragging her feet out of bed.

* * *

If she had been home right now…she would be celebrating her 18 birthday with her family. She let out a long sigh as she thought of what her family must be going through. She went to the window, opened the doors, and walked out onto her small balcony to listen to the robins that were singing in the courtyard below. She felt a few small tears fall as she watched the songbirds, remembering her dream, and the little bird that was perched outside the window of her father's room.

She went back inside for a moment to get the small bag of seeds that she took from the gardens and tossed a small handful to the ground. The birds went wild at the sight of delicious food and quickly ate it up. Kagome smiled again and put seed on the balcony's railing, and waited.

She didn't have to wait long; the birds flew up to her almost immediately and started to eat from her hand.

As she continued to feed them, she noticed that the early morning air was cold and Kagome found herself shivering. She then heard a strange noise above her. She looked up and saw that Inuyasha was sitting on the roof watching her. She knew that Inuyasha often went up to the roof whenever he wanted to be alone. But, for some reason, Kagome felt herself blushing and turned her attention back to the birds. As soon as she felt that she couldn't take the cold anymore and was just about to go back inside she felt a soft, warm weight descend upon her shoulders. She quickly looked behind her.

"You'll get sick if you stay out here with what you're wearing," Inuyasha said simply.

Kagome felt herself blushing again, and just clutched the red fabric around her tightly. "Thank you," she said not looking at him.

"Keh."

There was silence. An awkward silence.

Kagome reached back into her bag and pulled out another handful of seeds; she held her hand out and the birds came back instantly. "Do you want to feed them?" she asked as they finished another handful.

Inuyasha blushed slightly and mumbled something along the lines, 'why would I want to feed some rats with wings?'

Kagome smiled again, and took one of his clawed hands in her own, and put some seed into it.

"Now just hold out your hands like this...there you go!" Kagome instructed the half-demon prince. Inuyasha looked surprise at her when she put the seed in his hand, but didn't say anything as they waited until some birds took the bait. A few seconds later, a couple tiny robins came, and looked so out of place in the hands of a demon, that it felt surreal to Kagome. She tried to suppress a giggle from seeing him scared from the now almost zombie-like birds zoning in on him.

It had been like this the past few weeks- ever since Inuyasha had protected Kagome from his demon blood, they ate lunch together, walked together through the wood, they were almost always seen together ever since the incident- and Kagome didn't mind this one bit, for some strange reason she almost felt like she wasn't with him enough. She didn't know exactly what that really meant, or why she wanted to be with him so much, but it was a very different feeling than what she had ever felt before.

Inuyasha, who was now half concentrated on feeding the damned birds the seeds, looked over at Kagome's smiling face. And almost instantly, his rare smile creped along his face. When seeing his gaze on her she quickly turned with a blush; Inuyasha blushed right along with her.

"Still think I still have what it takes to break the curse?" Inuyasha muttered.

Kagome felt her heart sink. She didn't know what to say to comfort him. "Inuyasha…"

"I doubt that this is the birthday present you wanted."

Her birthday? How had he known that it was her birthday? Had Sango told him? "Inuyasha…" she began again.

"I'm… I'm sorry alright!" he suddenly yelled out of blue, causing the birds to take flight.

Kagome was taken aback. She just had no idea what to expect with this guy. If he wasn't in his demon state, he was being kind to her. If he wasn't growling, he was talking kindly. But what was he apologizing for?

"For keeping you here," he said as if reading her mind. "The night that you came here looking for the runt… I mean, your brother… I-I spent the whole day in pain again. And when I saw the kid in the castle-I-I guess I-I just snapped." He shook his head pitilessly. I was hardly in control that night. And then you came along… I didn't want you to leave. I… I made that deal because I needed you here… I thought… or maybe hoped that you could help with this." He looked down at his hands in disgust. "When you said that you were a priestess… I guess I thought that you could remove this curse and… that night… I hurt you… I almost killed you and…" he sighed.

Kagome was staring at him as if she had never seen anything like him before. (Which she hadn't)

Inuyasha sighed again and leaned on the railing. "I hate it when Miroku's right. You should be home with your family now… but…"

"It's alright," said Kagome softly. Inuyasha whorled to look at her as if she were crazy; did she just forgive him? After everything that he had done to her? What is with this girl? After holding her brother hostage, having her take her brother's place, yelled at her, hurt her, almost killed her, and everything else… she was just going to forgive him? Just like that?

Kagome walked towards him, and laid her head against his shoulder gently. She knew that Inuyasha's face was suddenly turning a completely new shade of red, but she ignored it. "I'm…" she began slowly, trying to pick the right words to say to him. "I'm still homesick… and I do miss my family terribly… but I understand how you must be feeling." She looked up at him again and went on, "I mean… being trapped inside this castle for 7 years… being in pain… and not knowing if you are ever going to break this curse… I know why you did all that." As Inuyasha stared at her, Kagome then asked him, "Inuyasha? Why are you in pain sometimes?"

His eyes darkened and he turned to look down at the courtyard. They stood in silence for a moment before he answered, "its part of my punishment. Once in awhile, my demon blood fights with my human soul… and it tears my body apart." He looked at her again and said, "As of late, I've been able to feel them coming."

He turned around and then leaned up against the railing before saying more to himself than to her, "You and I are very different…" he began slowly. "I mean besides the obvious," he put in when he saw her about to speak. "You're a human priestess, and I'm a curse half-demon. You can forgive easily, and I just seem to hold onto my hate. You have true feelings and apparently I can only imagine mine… like I imagine this terrible pain in my heart. Look, I don't care if I live or die anymore, because no one would ever grieve for my death. All I want to know is… where is this empty feeling inside me coming from? If I really am all demon… then why does my heart ache so? And the truth is I don't even know if my heart exists."

"Now listen here!" Kagome shouted, grabbing his hair and yanked his head down to meet her eyes. He winced. "Don't you dare talk like that! Think of everyone in the castle. They all care about you! And if you die, they would all mourn for your death! And as for your heart…" she roughly tugged his hair again, hoping to drive her point across, before releasing it and saying softly, "I know that you have a heart. No living creature, could feel that way without a heart."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in attempt to cover his shock at her behavior. "How do you know?!" he yelled back at her.

"Because," she snapped back with her eyes blaring at him. "If your heart doesn't exist, then you wouldn't have bothered protecting me and saving my life!"

Inuyasha felt himself blush again as he turned his head away from her eyes. Damn her for being so stubborn! But more than that, damn her for looking so undeniably beautiful at that very moment. Inuyasha wasn't aware of anything at that moment other than the passion in her voice, the blaze in her eyes or the way her full lips pressed together tightly in frustration–

Don't. Even. Go there.

"…You're not even listening to me, are you?"

Inuyasha snapped out of his daze and regarded her coldly. "I have to go."

He turned to leave just as he felt her soft hand grab his own claw, preventing him from going anywhere. His eyebrows disappeared into his bangs and the blush stained his cheeks once again. Why is she doing this for him? Why is she trying to comfort him?

"Inuyasha, why won't you look at me in the eye?"

Her voice had completely changed. It was softer…and sadder. It was a voice that made him feel like a complete jackass. Damn him for making her sad. And damn her for making him feel these things! Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

Inuyasha rolled his eyes before turning to face her. He rested his gaze on her chocolate-brown orbs…and was unprepared for what he saw.

Her eyes revealed understanding, sympathy, caring…and trust. Her openness was almost frightening. Then she smiled; a bright, beaming, beautiful smile. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked playfully.

The rest of her words were left unheard by Inuyasha, for he was lost inside her shining eyes… and he couldn't pull himself out of the spell that Kagome didn't even know that she was casting. Once again, Inuyasha felt the urge to smile again. And that scared him. Building a wall around his heart was the only way that he had been able to protect himself for nearly his whole life. Over time, it came naturally but…this woman, this priestess, was taking down the wall without even trying.

It was then that he realized that his hand was still in hers. With his face flaming, he pulled it away.

Kagome didn't seem to mind. She smiled again and walked back into her room.

"Wait!" Inuyasha blurted out.

Startled, Kagome stopped and turned around. "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha suddenly felt very flustered. "I, uh…thanks," he muttered.

Kagome looked surprised. "For what?" she asked in genuine confusion.

Why did she have to make everything so complicated? Could she just accept anything he said without questioning it? Besides, he didn't exactly know what he was thanking her for. Well…he did actually…but he didn't know how to word it. Instead of answering her, he jumped of the balcony and started to climb up the wall. Kagome just shook her head. Sometimes she couldn't tell if this was all a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. She went to her bed and flopped on her back. She was thinking of a saying that her mother had said to her once, 'Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.'

"Oh, mom you don't know how right you are," she said to herself. She then realized that she still had his robe of the fire-rat over her shoulders. She smiled as she took it off and carefully folded it back up. She would give it back the next time she saw him.

Somewhere above her, 6 pairs of eyes were talking about how they saw Inuyasha and Kagome together.

* * *

"Relax, Inuyasha! Believe me; Kagome is going to love it!" Miroku said to the frustrated half-demon. "All you have to do is to take her into the room."

"You better be right about this Miroku," Inuyasha warned. "If you're wrong then you don't have to worry about become a human again." And without another word, he turned and walked down the hallway. This was a few hours after the talk on the balcony, and Miroku came up to him and said that he had the perfect birthday present for Kagome. Inuyasha was so nervous about what he was going to do, that he didn't even notice Miroku's smirk.

"Is it safe to come out?" said Sango's voice.

"Yeah, Inuyasha left to get Kagome."

Sango, Kohaku, Rin, Ayame, and Shippo all came out of the next room.

"Think we should tell Inuyasha that we saw him and Kagome on the balcony this morning?" asked Kohaku innocently.

The others were looking at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Tell Inuyasha?" half shrieked Sango. "What? Are you tired of living?"

"If Inuyasha finds out that we were spying on them, then we all might as well just go outside and start digging our graves," said Shippo. "Even a little kid like me knows that much."

"But I wanna know what Inuyasha and Kagome were talking about," said Kohaku defensively. "We couldn't hear a word that they were saying. And I want to know what they said to each other."

"We all do Kohaku," replied Ayame. "But you know as well as we do that even if we were to ask Inuyasha what they talked about, he would never tell us."

"But…" cut in Miroku. "They sure looked like they were getting close."

They all smiled. "Did you see the way that Kagome grabbed his hair and started to yell at him?" asked Ayame.

"She sure knows how to get his attention doesn't she?" put in Rin.

"The two of them seem made for each other," said Sango.

"Yeah, they sure do," finished Miroku as they all left the room to go and 'spy' on the couple.

"I got to admit that seeing them like this is encouraging," said Sango. "But do you really think that we should interfere like this?" she turned her attention to Miroku as she said that. "You know that they have to fall in love with each other to break the curse, we can't do it for them."

"Well there's obliviously some kind of spark between them," said Ayame.

"I know that," said Miroku calmly. "But what's the harm in 'fanning the flames,' a little?"

* * *

"Can I open my eyes now?" asked Kagome. She had her eyes shut, and Inuyasha was leading her through the castle. She was eating in the dining hall when he came over to her and said that he had something to show her.

"Not yet." he said, covering her eyes with his hands more, they walked towards a large red door with a fancy golden doorknob. He slowly opened one door, making sure for it to not creak so she wouldn't know where they were going. He walked her to the middle of the room- not covering her eyes anymore but making sure her eyes were still closed, before stopping, and then slowly, leaning down to her ear, he whispered.

"Ok...open," Without hesitation a pair of chocolate orbs snapped open, growing wider in disbelief with each moment. The room he had leaded her into was the library- the absolute biggest library Kagome had ever seen. She had to almost look straight up to see the top shelves that were filled with more books than she could possibly read in a lifetime. It was actually so big that when you whisper you could hear a faint echo bounce off the walls.

"And you can have it too, they entire library Kagome!" he waited a moment to see her reaction. She stayed very still, and he had grown a bit scared that she may not have liked it so he added, "...I hope you like- oomph!"

Kagome had leaped onto Inuyasha, sending them both falling to the floor.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you so much Inuyasha!" Kagome squealed while squeezing him in a tight hug- but Inuyasha couldn't enjoy it more. He put his own hand around her waist to return the hug, all the while smiling at how happy he made her. In fact he didn't even notice the faint "Yes!" noises from some familiar voices in the hallway.


	13. Ever Hear of Knocking?

**Chapter 12- Ever Hear of Knocking?**

_It has been 3 weeks since Kagome's birthday; and she had been spending every single day in the library._

"How about this one Shippo?" asked Kagome.

She was once again in the library, and she was once again, picking out a storybook to read to Shippo. "This one's called 'The Goblin King' you want me to read it to you?"

"Sure Kagome," said Shippo jumping up and down in his seat. Kagome the pulled out the storybook she picked out for Shipp she started reading.

Inuyasha, who was sitting on the windowsill, and was lost in thought, had his ears twitch as Kagome pulled out the book and started reading. He stole a glance at her before turning away. He pretended to look uninterested but soon his curiosity got the better of him. Standing up he walked over until he was standing right next to Kagome. Looking over her shoulder he was staring at the book with curiosity and fascination.

Kagome was so absorbed in her book she didn't even notice Inuyasha moving. It wasn't until she felt someone reading over her did she look up.

"Eep!"

Seeing Inuyasha so close, so fast caused Kagome to squeak in surprise and jump a little. "A warning would be nice."

Inuyasha ignored the remark. Picking up the book she dropped; he opened it up to the page she was reading. He held it open with his right hand so she could see the pages. Lifting his left hand he pointed to the picture on the page. "What's going on?"

Kagome's eyes focused on the picture. It was of a beautiful woman dressed in a simple, but elegant blue dress. She was standing face to face with a man dressed in extravagant robes and a crown on his head. He looked almost human, except for the yellow eyes and pointed ears.

"That's 'The Goblin King.' This story is about the king of Goblins and how he had fallen in love with a human girl. One night, she accidently wished for the Goblin King to take her brother away, but when he does, begs the king to give him back. He tells her that if she can find her brother in the Goblin City in a few hours, then he will let them go. So she goes on a journey through the underground city of the goblins to find her brother!" Kagome explained.

Inuyasha listened intently when Kagome was explaining it to him. Turning the book so he could look he stared at the picture. As he stared at the picture he traced the image of the girl and the Goblin King with the pad of his fingers, being careful of his claws. Seeing his look of amazement and awe Kagome smiled.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" asked Shippo. "I know that you never picked up a book but… OWWW!"

Inuyasha had hit Shippo over the head… hard.

"Waaaaaa," cried out Shippo. "Inuyasha's hitting me!"

"Inuyasha!" yelled out Kagome angrily.

After a few minutes of yelling and hitting, Inuyasha was rubbing a very sore head, and Shippo was smirking at Inuyasha's pain. "Inuyasha," snapped Kagome as she picked up a few books that were knocked off the table, "you don't have to resort to violence every time someone says something that you don't like."

"Keh," was all he said as he turned away to broodingly stare at the wall.

She made Shippo leave the room while she cleaned up. She climbed up the ladder with an armful of books and carefully started to put them back on the shelves. When she put up the last book, she realized that one was missing…

She looked behind her and sure enough, Inuyasha was sitting by the windowsill, staring at the pictures in 'The Goblin King'.

She smiled before sliding down the ladder and went over to him. Reaching out she placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to look at her.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" she asked gently.

Inuyasha nodded and gave her the book. Sitting right beside him on the windowsill, so that Inuyasha could follow along if he wished and look at the wonderful illustrations, she started reading. "The Goblin City… home to magical beings such as demons, spirits, and the Goblin King himself. A young girl must battle her way through to save her brother. But it wasn't the King who was supposed to be the one to fall in love…"

Inuyasha and Kagome spent the rest of the day in the library, and she read to him. Inuyasha listened with rapt attention the entire time. By the time they left Kagome had read most of the book.

_The Next Day_

Kagome was currently sitting in a tall tree residing in between the castle and the gates. She had just finished cleaning the dining room and helping Sango wash the dishes. She let out a very long yawn. "I could fall asleep right now. I fact I think I'll do just that." She soon fell into a light sleep in the branches of the tree.

Inuyasha was currently sitting on the roof of the castle deep in thought… he was thinking about what happened last night, after he left the library with Kagome…

When Shippo popped up out of nowhere and asked, "Where's Kagome? I want to play with her."

_'Probably still mad about last night,'_ thought Inuyasha to himself. "Probably in the library. I mean she practically lives in there," Inuyasha replied.

"No, I just checked," Shippo answered.

Inuyasha tried to look uninterested, but it was hard to hide the shock.

"I take it you don't know where she is so I'll just go find her." Shippo then left following Kagome's scent he soon found her.

"Kagome will you play with me?" an excited Shippo asked.

Kagome, who had been sleeping, was abruptly woken up by Shippo's voice. Startled, she backed away only to run out of tree. She was falling backwards toward the ground and was half way down when Inuyasha, who had decided to follow Shippo, showed up. He automatically ran to catch the falling girl when she grabbed a branch and hoisted herself back up. Leaving a shocked half-demon stopping dead in his tracks.

"Hello Shippo! I would love to play with you. What do you want to play?" Kagome responded.

"Wow, Kagome that was so cool! How did you stop yourself from falling?" Shippo asked.

"I grabbed a branch and lifted myself up?" Kagome answered.

"I know that. I mean how did you do it so quick?" Shippo said.

"Reflexes. When I want to relax or be alone I climb trees. Sota used to snuck up on me a lot; mainly when I was sitting on a branch. After falling out a few time I just kind of developed a reaction to it." Kagome explained. When she turned her head, she saw the stunned half-demon starring up at her. She went bright red before turning away.

"GO AWAY!" she yelled at Inuyasha, not looking at him.

_'Yep,'_ thought Inuyasha. _'She's still mad at me.'_

_Meanwhile_

"What is troubling you, my dear Sango?" Miroku asked casually as he filled the large bucket with water.

Sango snapped out of her little daze. "Huh? First of all, I'm not your 'dear' anything. And second of all, nothing's wrong," she said casually. To anybody that didn't know her, she would have sounded flawlessly convincing.

But Miroku knew her better than that. He regarded her seriously. "You worried about Kagome and Inuyasha?"

She looked surprise for a moment. "Kinda," Sango said sighing. "I don't know what happened last night, but Kagome seems to be really mad at Inuyasha," she said in an irritated voice.

"I think that the whole castle knew that," said Miroku as he lifted the heavy bucket with practiced ease. "Everyone heard Kagome screaming at Inuyasha. Scratch that, I think everyone in a 100 mile radius heard her screaming at Inuyasha. She hasn't said anything to you?"

"No," said Sango. "But whatever happened, Inuyasha must've done something to make her really mad." She shook her head before continuing, "She really doesn't like talking about her problems. The way she closes herself off…doesn't it remind you of someone?" Sango asked with a light smirk.

"You mean Inuyasha?"

"No, I mean Rin," she said sarcastically.

Miroku shrugged. "I think that Kagome is a little more open than that. She has answered any questions that we have asked unless they were family-related. Inuyasha…it's like pulling teeth to get him to make conversation."

"Kagome has talked to him with few problems."

Miroku nodded. "Well, we both know that Kagome is different."

"I hope that she can be the one to heal Inuyasha's heart," Sango said softly. "And I hope that Inuyasha can protect her from now on. Those two need each other…"

"The only problem is, the two of them are too stubborn to admit to that fact that the need each other," Miroku said matter-of-factly. "That and apparently they had some kind of fight last night." They stood in an awkward silence for a moment.

"If he could learn to love another…" Sango sighed to herself. "We only have a little time left, judging by how big the jewel is getting."

"Sooner than you think," Miroku said darkly. Much as Sango loved his honesty, she was afraid to hear it now.

"…How long?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Well… judging how fast the jewel is growing…"

Sango narrowed her eyes. "How. Long?" she repeated slowly and deliberately.

Miroku closed the book, bowed his head, and rubbed his temples in a rare display of weakness. He said something in a voice so low that Sango couldn't hear him.

"What was that?" she asked, trying to calm her racing heart.

Miroku looked up at her. In a clear voice that was devoid of all fear, he said, "We have two weeks left."

_'Damn she has a good arm.'_ He winced when his hand hit a particularly sensitive spot where Kagome had thrown a large piece of metal at his head. _'I think she put some of her spiritual powers in that last throw.'_ Inuyasha had been sitting on the roof for hours thinking of how to get out of this mess. He finally got tired of just sitting around and decided the sooner he apologized, the sooner Kagome would stop hating him.

About an hour ago Inuyasha had tried to go and explain himself to Kagome. Much to his annoyance he found that Kagome had locked herself in her room and wasn't coming out. She also refused to even give him the courtesy of answering him when he had tried to persuade her to let him in.

He figured she wasn't going to unlock the door for him anytime soon so he spent the rest of his time trying to figure out how to pull off his big apology when she refused to come out. That's when it hit him. She wasn't going to let him in but she would more than likely to open the door for Sango or one of the others. With that decided he went down to find someone.

_In Shippo's room_

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were all gathered around Shippo's bed. All concentrating intently on the game at hand, each determined to be victorious. A game that required every bit of skill they had…

"I'm going to checkmate your king, my love."

"In your dreams. And I'm **not** your love."

That's right they were all sitting around playing chess. After an interesting round of truth or dare where Miroku had tried to dare Sango to bear his child, (key word tried. Sango cut him off by hitting him so hard on the head that he saw stars, and threatening if he finished his sentence he wouldn't be able to have children.) They had started another game of chess.

"Hah! I win!" Shippo jumped up with the red king on his head and doing a happy dance. After Shippo's victory the other two lost interest and just watched as Shippo started playing with the pieces. While Shippo was playing, Sango and Miroku were arguing.

"Come on Sango won't you please bear my child?"

"You've asked me nine hundred and ninety-nine times now. I'm not going to say it again! NO!"

Miroku paused for a moment before an idea hit him. "So if I ask again, you'll say yes?"

"NO!"

"Fine."

Sango was taken aback by his reply. "Can you repeat that please?"

"I said fine, I won't ask you to bear my child anymore. Heck I won't even grope you." Miroku shrugged as if it were no big deal.

Sango looked suspicious, which was to be expected. "You serious? You won't grope me or ask me to bear your child anymore?"

"Sure. It's quite obvious you're not going to give in to my charm so I'll just have to try a different tactic."

"Charm my ass." Mumbled Sango

"And a fine ass it is." Miroku piped up.

Then something sank in. Sango looked up at Miroku curiously. "Wait did you say you were going to try something different?"

"Why yes, from now on… I won't stop staring at you till you at least agree to kiss me." Miroku said smugly.

Meanwhile Sango was confused. _'How is staring at me bad? Sure it's a little creepy… but he's always creepy. But… that smile on his face…it can't mean anything good.'_

Miroku's smile just got bigger at Sango's paranoia and curiosity. He made himself comfortable on the floor, took a deep breath, and started to stare at Sango with wide eyes.

Now the first five to ten minutes where fine. Sango had managed to concentrate on something else. After fifteen minutes the staring was starting to get to her. Twenty minutes later she was really getting annoyed, _'Isn't he getting tired yet?'_ she thought. By now she was resorting to threatening him in the hopes of getting him to stop.

"MIROKU I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T STOP STARING, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Miroku seemed unfazed by Sango's threat.

And this is when Inuyasha came in.

The sight that greeted Inuyasha was a strange and humorous one, if not slightly disturbing. Shippo was still playing with chess pieces; Miroku was still sitting contently on the floor with a big grin and was staring at Sango with creepy look on his face. Then last but not least, there was Sango. She had her back to him and she was yelling in an attempt to get Miroku to stop.

"KNOCK IT OFF MIROKU BEFORE I POKE YOUR EYES OUT!"

Now, Inuyasha was frowning. An angry and annoyed Sango was not what he needed right now. He needed the somewhat normally calm Sango and this was defiantly not she. _'OK Sango's in a bad mood and I want to get on her good side and a quick and easy way to do that is…'_

Miroku found that he suddenly wasn't able to see anymore. Maybe it was because his he had gone blind or it could have been the fact that Inuyasha's hand was currently shoving him face-down onto the floor.

Sango heard the thump of a face hitting the floor and cautiously looked behind her. Giving Inuyasha a grateful smile and spoke in a normal voice. "Thank you very much Inuyasha but what are you doing down here? Where's Kagome?"

At the last comment Inuyasha had removed his hand from the back of Miroku's head and started blushing. "Keh, never mind. I need you guys help."

Miroku and Sango had stood there dumbfounded, "What on earth did you do? Well? Answer me damn it!" Sango yelled as she stood up and began to pace back and forth, waving her arms frantically.

Miroku joined in but in a calmer manner. "Yes, Inuyasha enlighten us. What happened?"

When Inuyasha didn't speak, Miroku asked again, "Inuyasha what happened?"

This just made Inuyasha blush even more. "None of your damn business! Now are going to help me out or not!"

"Calm down Inuyasha. Of course we'll help but first you have to tell us what happened." Miroku bargained.

Inuyasha was starting to get panicky on top of being embarrassed. He turned to Sango, "I really need your help Sango. And I really don't want to have to explain myself right now."

Sango sensing Inuyasha's discomfort, she agreed, "I'll help you out anyway I can and don't worry you don't have to say anything in front of the perverted idiot."

"I resent that!"

Inuyasha sighed in relief. He quickly grabbed Sango and started dragging her out of the room.

He then continued to drag her until they were in the secluded part of the castle. Once there they entered a room where Inuyasha quickly shut the door behind them.

By the time Sango had regained her senses Inuyasha was already riffling through a small chest.

"Okay Inuyasha the pervert and Shippo aren't present so are you going to tell me what's going on?" Inuyasha only looked up for a moment before once again returning to searching through the chest. To this Sango crossed her arms and glared at the back of his head. "Well?"

Inuyasha buried himself deeper into the chest before he started talking. "I'm going to give Kagome a gift."

Now Sango was interested. "Okay but what does any of this have to do with me?"

"I need you to talk to her. She won't listen to me so I need you to give her the gift. Will you do that?" Inuyasha replied.

"Yah, but what did you do?" Inuyasha gave her a deep growl that immediately sparked interest. "Don't you growl at me! You shouldn't go around and upsetting the only person who can break the curse."

"I didn't mean to make her upset!" he snapped back.

"Whatever! Now I need to know what's going on. If I'm going to do this, I should at least know what's upsetting her right?"

Inuyasha muttered something, but he spoke so low that Sango couldn't understand a word he said.

Sango reached down and grabbed a handful of hair; forcing him to stand up. "Repeat that please."

Inuyasha mumbled something a little louder… but still impossible for Sango to make out.

Sango gave him a dirty look. "Repeat that and louder this time."

"Last night… I sort of accidentally… walked in on her… while she was bathing." Sango defiantly heard him that time.

In fact, in her moment of shock she let go of Inuyasha's hair. He bent back over, rummaging through the chest before finally finding the thing he was looking for and proceeded over to the dresser. When Sango recovered she saw that he had a small jewelry box and was riffling through it.

Sango sighed. "Well at least you had the decency to look away. I mean Miroku would have just stood there and stared." She shuttered at the thought of Miroku staring at her mere moments ago.

But that didn't stop her from noticing the way that Inuyasha's body stiffening. "You did look away right?"

The blush evident on Inuyasha's face was enough of an answer.

Sango buried her face into her hands and groaned. After a few minutes she started ranting on and on about men these days. "I can't believe you! What is wrong with men today? Is it too much for a girl to not have to worry about being groped while walking down a hallway or stared at while she's in the tub? Well? Is it?!"

"Hey, it's not my fault ok?" Inuyasha tried to defend himself.

"Sure it's not," Was Sango's sarcastic response. "I'm sure Kagome invited you to watch her bathe?"

All Inuyasha had to say to that was, "Shut up."

"Don't you dare tell me to… hey get back here! Where do you think you're going?" Sango followed Inuyasha.

"Look! I need you to give her this." Inuyasha handed over a necklace.

Sango gasped. She never got a good look at what he had taken out of the jewelry box. Now she was stunned at what she saw. It was simple yet elegant. A thin gold chain with a golden gem in the shape of a teardrop, on both sides of that were a ruby, sapphire, and amber stones.

Even when they left the room, and were standing in front of Kagome's door, Sango was still in awe. She finally managed to be able to form a sentence. "Where did you get this? It's gorgeous."

"It was my mother's," was all Inuyasha said before he left.

_-Knock knock-_

"Inuyasha go away! I'll come out when I want to!" Kagome then mumbled to herself. "The day when Sango says she'll bear Miroku's children."

_-Knock knock-_

"Inuyasha…"

But Sango cut her off. "Kagome? It's Sango! Can I come in?" She didn't have long to wait before the door was thrown open and she was dragged inside. Before she knew it Sango was lying on the bed with gift in hand and Kagome was locking the door.

Once the door was securely locked Kagome sat down next to Sango on the bed. "Why are you up here? Is something wrong downstairs? "

"No nothing's wrong but Inuyasha wants to talk with you and that's hard to do when you won't even be in the same room as him." Sango explained.

Kagome immediately went into defensive mode. "Well do you have any idea what he did? He walked in on me when I was bathing! He didn't even bother to look away and I didn't see him right away so who knows how long he was standing there! Whatever happened to common courtesy? Or even just knocking?"

"Kagome, calm down! You have every right to be upset but don't kill the messenger." Sango said.

Kagome took a few deep breathes before saying in a calmer voice, "You're right, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry but he's such a jerk!"

"Just because Inuyasha is a jerk sometimes, doesn't mean he doesn't have his good points. Come on downstairs and just listen to him. He really wants to make it up to you." Sango tried to convince her temperamental friend.

Before Kagome could start her defense something shining caught her eye. "Hey Sango what do you have there?"

"Huh?" Sango looked to where Kagome was pointing. Turns out she was talking about the necklace. Picking it up, Sango handed to her. "Oh, I almost forgot about this. It's a gift from Inuyasha. He wanted you to have it. Inuyasha knew that you weren't going to talk to him so he had me give it to you."

Kagome carefully picked up the necklace with wide eyes. "Oh wow…this is beautiful."

Sango gave her a small smile. "Yah, it is and it's really special to Inuyasha too. Trust me Kagome; he really wants to make up with you. So go downstairs and make up."

Kagome sighed, but smiled at the same time. "I guess I'll have to huh? I don't think I could be mad at him after this. Darn Inuyasha and his sensitive side."

Sango only laughed. "I'll go down and tell him the good news. And be nice okay?"

"Don't worry," said Kagome with a gentle smile. "I promise to behave myself and to hear him out."


	14. Barely Touching

**Chapter 13- Barely Touching**

"Inuyasha, will you just calm down?" Miroku said to the angry Inuyasha who just paced back and forth while Shippo and Miroku merely watched.

"What's taking them so long?" Inuyasha complained.

"Just what did you do to make her so mad?" Miroku chided.

"Yeah." Shippo piped up. "Plus your pacing is starting to make my head spin."

"Then stop staring at me you little runt!"

"No need to act like this Inuyasha. After all, turning into a nervous wreck won't do you or anyone else for that matter any good." Miroku scolded.

"Inuyasha turned his attention to Miroku. "What was that?" he asked in a cold voice.

Miroku walked up to him and looked him in the eye. "I'm just saying that acting like this won't help matters. We are running out of time. You and Kagome both need to fall in love soon if the curse is to be broken."

"Keh, I know that…"

"Hey guys, you ready?" Sango suddenly made an appearance. She arrived in time to seeing Inuyasha in a nervious state and Miroku sighin, she raised a curious eyebrow. "Am I interrupting something?"

Miroku magically appeared in front of her and grasped her hands, "My love! Oh, how I have missed you so!"

"It's only been a few minutes Miroku." Sango pulled her hands away and turned to talk to Inuyasha. This left her with her back facing Miroku, and you think that she would've known better after all this time. "So I talked to Kagome and I got her tooooo…!"

Sango's sentence was cut short when Miroku started to grope her bottom, making her scream and causing her to slap him. "I thought that you weren't going to do that anymore!" she yelled at him.

Shippo sighed and shook his head. "Idiot. When is he ever gonna learn?"

Miroku on the other hand sighed in contentment. "I'm sorry my dear Sango. But I couldn't resist."

Inuyasha just ignored the whole scene and started talking to Sango. "So she'll come down and listen?"

Sango immediately returned her attention back to the him and smiled. "Yes. She promises that she'll hear you out and that she'll behave herself. But personally, I think that you better have a good explanation about what happened last night."

"Will someone please tell me just what happened last night?" asked Shippo in a loud voice.

Inuyasha, barked at him to shut up.

He blushed as he remembered…

_*Flashback*_

_After he left the library, everyone thought that he went back up to his balcony to be alone. But in reality, he went to the balcony so that he could think about the story that Kagome had just told him. He was thinking about how the Goblin King loved the girl in the story so much that he went and reordered time, just for her. _

_But more than anything else at the moment, he was thinking about Kagome's voice when she was reading from the story book…_

_What are these feelings? Why did he feel like this? He couldn't explain it… being with Kagome… it made him feel so warm inside…_

_He stretched and sighed, about to go to bed when he heard something. Inuyasha's ears picked up what sounded like a cry of pain in the form of Kagome's voice. He waited for a few minutes trying to hear anything else. After a few minutes of quiet Inuyasha was starting to get worried. He ran back into his room, and out into the hallway; his eyes did a quick look around trying to locate Kagome, not seeing her, made him start to panic._

_That is until his ears picked up what sounded like rustling. After a moment Inuyasha had manage to pin point where the noise was coming from and soon found himself outside a bathroom door. He wasn't thinking that it was a bathroom, only that he had to find Kagome. That's why it came as a shock to the idiot when he opened the door and was greeted by a naked Kagome's back, who was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, waiting for it to fill._

_'Oh, hell…' he thought to himself as his face began to burn._

_Inuyasha stiffened when he saw Kagome's head lift up. He should have bolted right then and there, before she noticed him standing in the room. That is **if** he were able to move, but as his luck would have it, he was rooted to the spot. All he could do was stand there and stare. He knew that he should at least turn away but his mind had gone into a kinda shock and he couldn't move to save his life. He watched as she then slipped into the water, once it was full and began to wash herself._

_His mind was in a state of shock... what the hell was wrong? Kagome was going to kill him when she noticed him..._

_Kagome suddenly turned her head to look behind her… her eyes widened in shock as she saw who was standing there. She blinked a few times, before her face turned a dark shade of red. She sank beneath the water until it was up to her neck and started screaming._

_Not that Inuyasha was listening; it was like his ears stopped working properly, and the only sound that Inuyasha could hear was a loud ringing. All Inuyasha could tell was that a submerged and naked Kagome looked as if she was yelling, judging from how her mouth kept opening and closing, with a embarrassed and angry look on her face. She then started grabbing anything she could reach, without revealing herself, and throwing them as hard as she could at him._

_By some miracle, Inuyasha finally managed to gain control of his legs and ran as if the devil was at his heels. Of course, only after having a wooden bucket, a bar of soap, and part of the bathtub faucet thrown at him. _

_*End of Flashback*_

At that moment, Inuyasha heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs and Kagome's wonderful scent filled his nose. He snapped his head around to see Kagome coming down the stair wearing a pink kimono with pale pink embroidery of butterflies as well as the necklace he had given her. Once again, Inuyasha felt a strong blush on his face as he watched her slowly come to the foot of the stairs.

She looked at him for a brief moment before she also went red and turned her head away. He knew that she was still angry; but at least she wasn't yelling or throwing anything at him.

Sango then leaned in and whispered into his ear, "You do realize that you have about two weeks left don't you? If I were you, I would apologize and explain myself."

Kagome had put on a new kimono and placed the necklace around her neck. There was a part of her that wanted to make up with Inuyasha… but there was also a part that wanted to kill him when she next saw him. Kagome couldn't help but blush when she thought of him. What do you say to a man who spied on you taking a bath and wouldn't stop staring?

_*Flashback*_

_She decided that tonight would be a good night for a bath and headed towards the bathroom. It was a large room with a giant metal tub in the center; there were fancy towels, soap, and bath toys that belonged to Rin and Shippo. As she turned on the water, she began to remove her clothes. _

_"OWW!" she let out a cry of pain. She had just stepped on a hard toy; she would have a word to Shippo about leaving his top lying around. She quickly removed the rest of her clothes, tossed the top aside, and sat on the edge of the tub to wait for it to fill up. When the tub was about half-way full, Kagome raised her head a little because she thought she heard a noise. After listening for a minute she shrugged it off and continued to wait for the water to fill. _

_When the water was finally up near the brim, she sank beneath the warm water and began to wash her body and her hair. As she washed, Kagome had a tingling feeling on the back of her head for awhile. It was that feeling you get when somebody's staring at you but you don't see anyone. Finally, deciding to turn around and try to find the source of her unease she was shocked to find Inuyasha staring at her with unfocused eyes. She blinked hard a few times, as if hoping that it was all just a hallucination. But when he didn't disappear, she realized that he was the real deal. Inuyasha was staring at her…while she was bathing. She submerged her body fully into the water, took a deep breath, and screamed as loud as she could._

_After a few minutes, Kagome stopped screaming. Not necessarily because she wanted too, but because she had run out of air. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again Inuyasha was still standing in the same place only now he had a dazed look on his face._

_Now you would think that all that yelling would have caused her to lose her voice, but seeing Inuyasha standing there and staring at her just fueled the outrage. "YOU COULD AT LEAST LOOK AWAY! GET OUT RIGHT NOW!"_

_Inuyasha just continued staring._

_"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME? I SAID GET OUT OF HERE!"_

_By now Kagome was full of rage and embarrassed beyond what she thought to be possible. Her face was bright red with both anger and embarrassment. _

_Since screaming at him didn't seem to get through to him, she did the next most reasonable thing. She started chucking anything and everything she could reach without revealing any part of herself at him until he finally had the sense to turn and run._

_She merely took deep calming breaths as she sat in that water, and tried to ignore her beating heart as well as the blush on her face._

_*End of Flashback*_

She calmly left her room and made her way down the hallway and towards the stairs. That was when she heard Shippo asking, "Will someone please tell me just what happened last night?"

She then heard Inuyasha, bark at him to shut up. She blushed again, before mustering up her courage and walked down the stairs. She looked down at her friends who where standing at the foot of the stairs, waiting for her. Sango who was standing next to Inuyasha, was whispering something into his ears. Miroku was rubbing a bright red, handprint on his face, and Shippo was looking back and forth between Inuyasha and Kagome, as if worried that they would start fighting as soon as they saw each other. Finally, she focused her attention on Inuyasha, who was staring up at her, with a blaring red blush.

Kagome felt herself turn a deeper shade of red as she reached the bottom step and turned her head away from him.

There was an awkward silence.

"Well," said Sango, breaking the silence. "Why don't me, Miroku, Shippo, and the others start on dinner tonight?"

"But... I wanted to watch and..." stuttered Shippo before Sango gave them both a deadly look that would scare any demon. She then forced the other 2 to follow her, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha alone.

Kagome looked up at him again, and remembered the blank look on his face from last night and asked, "You mind telling me what was going through your head last night?"

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. "I heard you yell out in pain… and… I was worried…" he said lamely.

Kagome blinked in surprise. She wasn't expecting that answer. "Pain?" she asked in confusion. "Oh that!" when she realized what he was talking about. "I stepped on Shippo's top."

She was silent for another minute before asking him, "But that doesn't explain why you were staring at me for so long?" She was having trouble keeping her temper; she took a few deep breathes before continuing in a cold voice, "How long were you watching?"

Inuyasha turned around and took a few steps before answering, "I don't know."

(When in doubt… play dumb)

"Ok," said Kagome who was surprised at how calm her voice was. "Why didn't you at least turn away?"

Inuyasha gulped. "I… I don't know," he said again. "I just couldn't…" he then reached up and rubbed the sore spot on his head, where Kagome had thrown the faucet at him. Kagome noticing this and said, "You did deserve it."

He rounded on her. "I did not!"

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"DID SO!"

"DID NOT!"

"Look," snapped Kagome. "I threw a faucet at your head, you saw me naked can't we just say that we're even?!"

"Fine!" snapped back Inuyasha. They both folded their arms and turned their backs on each other.

After a few moments, Kagome grew tired of this, and walked up to him. She walked around to his front, and leaned forward until their noses nearly touched. "Seriously though. What happened to you?" she whispered. "It was like you were a zombie or something. You were standing with a blank look on your face. You almost had me worried." Kagome honestly hadn't had any idea expect from Inuyasha… she also didn't know why she was standing so close to him.

For that second, he was silent, though he was staring into her chocolate orbs with a fiery intensity. She could feel his warm breath against her lips. He was leaning toward her…

_'Is he…is he going to…kiss me?' _Kagome thought as her face burned. Her mind was telling her to turn away… but her body didn't seem to be able to move… and her heart… she could almost swear that her heart was saying that it didn't want her to move.

Kagome's eyes were half-lidded when she felt strong arms embrace small frame tightly.

Kagome was taken-aback by his sudden closeness… but what worried her more was that she felt… a little... disappointed. What were these feelings? Why is he making her feel like this? What's happening to her?

These questions were rolling inside her head. But instead of trying to answer any of them, she returned the hug. She leaned against his strong chest and closed her eyes, feeling at peace.

"I… I'm sorry," said Inuyash simply.

Despite herself, Kagome smiled. Her anger had disappeared… at least for now.

**(Next chapter… Kagome gets sick! Everyone is trying hard to make her feel better... will this sickness bring Kagome and Inuyasha even closer? What will happen when he comes to her and becomes a kinda guardian angel that's watching over her? Why is she dreaming of Inuyasha? And why does she smell lavender? I need help in deciding a chapter name. Which sounds the best? If you come up with a better name... then please feel free to tell me!) **

**'I'm Dreaming of You Tonight,' **

**'Lavender Rain,' **

**or **

**'Angel's don't always have wings'. **


	15. Angel's Don't Always Have Wings

**The most popular one is Angel's don't always have wings. Thanks for your help!**

**Chapter 14- Angel's Don't Always Have Wings**

_*Morning the next day*_

"What do you mean that she's sick?" barked an angry Inuyasha looking up from his breakfast and glared at Miroku, Sango, and Kohaku.

"We mean that she's in bed with the flu," repeated an annoyed Sango. "Kagome had woken up, feeling like she's about to die."

"It's not serious is it?" Inuyasha demanded of Kohaku, who was busy helping Sango mix some herbs together for Kagome.

"Ayame said that it's just a bad case of the flu," he replied politely.

Miroku picked this moment to say, "Ayame also said that Kagome was running a high fever when she went to wake her several hours ago. It appears that Kagome can't seem to be able to get out of bed without collapsing; and she hasn't eaten anything either. I was going to ask if you want me to go and…"

"Oh no," Inuyasha said standing up. "I'm sure that you groping her will only make her condition worse. I'll take care of it." Miroku feigned shock.

"Inuyasha! How rude of you. Why would you ever think that I would take advantage of a beautiful woman who is sick? I've never been so insulted all my life. Is that honestly how you see me as?" Inuyasha, Sango, and Kohaku rolled their eyes.

"Yes," said Inuyasha, "and if I hear that you lay so much as a finger on Kagome…" his voice trailed off. For some reason, he's been having trouble getting angry these days. "I'll take care of her."

Without another word he left the room. Leaving the other three smirking at each other…

_*In Kagome's Room*_

Kagome moaned. She was miserable. She'd woken up with the flue and she had to ask Ayame to keep bringing tissues, and she was starting to get annoying. She placed another cool cloth on Kagome's forehead and fussed with Kagome's blankets, pulling them straight and tucking them in around her. Kagome tugged the covers out of her grip.

"I'm fine," She said reassuringly. "I just don't feel good. I know you're worried, but I just want to sleep."

Kagome then pushed her untouched breakfast tray away. "And I promise to eat when I wake up okay?" After a moment of indecision Ayame nodded.

"If you need anything," she said in a quiet voice, "just call."

"I'm sick," said Kagome rolling her eyes and trying not to laugh. "Not dying. You don't have to talk so quietly. But…" she added. "If it's not too much trouble, I would appreciate it if you will open the curtains a little bit."

Ayame nodded and went over to the window to push the long, blue curtains back to let just a little bit of light into the room. When the light entered her room, Kagome than sank back into her covers and closed her eyes before falling into an uneasy sleep.

_*A few hours later*_

Inuyasha had left the castle and gone to hunt for some 'special ingredients' to make medicine. To get rid of a cold, you needed a lot of sustenance; and there's nothing like liver when it comes to nourishment.

So far, he had collected some boar liver, chicken liver, carp liver, and some rare medicinal herbs. (The ingredients are supposed to be dried when making the medicine, but he found that getting them fresh works just as well.)

Once he made sure that he got everything that he needed, he headed back to the castle. Time to start cooking.

_*After he returned to the castle*_

Inuyasha was in the hallway outside Kagome's room holding a goblet of medicine, and a pouch filled with some herbs that he collected when he went looking for ingredients. He was trying to calm Rin and Shippo who were looking scared and sad.

"Don't worry about her. She's tough as nails. I'm sure she'll be fine," Inuyasha reassured them gruffly. When they continued to look gloomily, Inuyasha had an idea.

"Leave," Inuyasha told the children. "I will look after her. But I'm sure that Kagome would like it if you two brought some flowers or some soup to make her feel better."

Their eye's brightened up immediately and they took off, running towards the kitchens. Smiling slightly, Inuyasha opened her door to let himself in.

_*A little bit later*_

Kagome had just woken up from an uncomfortable doze. She felt terrible, her head felt as if it was about to split in two. She was so tired that she didn't want to open her eyes; she then rolled her head to the side and took a deep breath.

A wonderful scent filled her nose. What was it? It smelled like… lavender? It was the scent of lavender after it rains… beautiful… but where was it coming from? It was then that she heard the quiet breathing of a person…

"Who's there?" she asked, without opening her eyes, thinking that it was Ayame again. She was startled to hear a rough voice tell her to stop talking. She felt a pair of clawed hands very gently placed a cold cloth to her forehead. Kagome sighed peacefully when she realized who it was and reached up to delicately touch the thick white cloth.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him calmly. She wasn't surprised when he ignored her question.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She chuckled darkly. "I feel great," she said sarcastically. "I'm the picture of health!" She could almost feel him smile.

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard," he replied in an amused voice.

She finally forced her eyes to open and to look up at him. Inuyasha was sitting in a chair, in front of the window, and the glow of the sunset shone behind him. Kagome gasped and felt her hot face, grow even hotter.

"You ok?" Inuyasha asked her worriedly when he noticed that she had gotten redder.

Kagome snapped herself out of it. "Yeah, I guess." She looked at him for another minute before asking, "Why do I smell lavender?"

Inuyasha reached beside her pillow and held up the small pouch. "This is filled with lavender," he explained. "I collected it this morning. They say that the scent of lavender is supposed to work wonders when you're sick." He then placed it right back next to her head before reaching for a small goblet on a table besides him.

"Here, open your mouth."

Kagome looked at the steaming cup and asked, "What is it?"

"It's medicine. It'll cure any cold," he answered her.

Kagome tried to raise her head, but couldn't seem to find the strength to move. That was when she noticed the smell… "It stinks," she said covering her nose.

"Just trust me," he said patiently. "It may smell bad, but it will defiantly help." Before she could make a retort, he carefully put his hand underneath her neck so he could raise her head, and tipped the drink into her mouth. When the liquid entered, Kagome instinctively swallowed. It tasted disgusting.

"That has to be the most disgusting thing I ever drank," she said as she tried to gulp down the bitter taste.

"I know it tastes bad," said Inuyasha with an amused smile. "But the next time you wake up, believe me, you'll be feeling better than ever." He then put the goblet down before reaching for the bowl that Shippo and Rin brought.

"Soup?" asked Kagome.

"You haven't eaten all day. This will help you feel better, faster," he explained. "Open your mouth," he commanded.

She did so without complaining, and was fed a spoonful of hot soup. He fed her silently for a few minutes before she spoke again.

"You know it's not half bad," she said softly.

"Stop talking and keep eating," he said as he picked up another spoonful. After another minute Kagome asked, "Inuyasha? What was in that medicine you gave me? It was putrid."

Inuyasha had froze. "Who cares as long as it works, right?"

"I don't like your tone mister," said Kagome starting to get worried on what was in that 'medicine'. "What did you just give me?"

Inuyasha was silent for a moment before saying in a much quieter voice, "It's a cold medicine that my mother used to make."

Kagome looked at him with wide eyes. That was the first time that she ever heard Inuyasha talk about his mother. "Your mother? And she taught you how to make it?"

Not surprising, he chose not to answer her. He just said to shut up and to keep eating.

Kagome didn't press the matter as she swallowed the soup without any comments. She was too busing staring at the worry in Inuyasha's face. _'Is he really that worried about me?'_ she thought.

As she stared into his face, she couldn't help but think about what her father once said to her when she was young. He had said that there are angels living on earth. These angels always watched over us. They took care of us, protect us, and care about us. But these angels didn't always have wings.

Right now… the way that Inuyasha was standing watch over her… maybe it was just the glow of the sunset that was coming from the window or maybe her fever was starting to fry her brain… but to her, he looked a little bit like an angel that was sent to protect and care for her. He was her angel… the kind of angel with black wings…

He was her very own silver-haired, dark angel.

Kagome gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you Inuyasha. Thanks for looking after me."

When she saw him beginning to blush again, she smiled even wider. They were both quiet for a moment before the effect of the medicine began to kick in and Kagome closed her eyes. She had drifted off to a peaceful sleep with Inuyasha sitting besides her… watching over her.

That night… Kagome dreamt of lavender rain and of a dark angel with dog ears.

Inuyasha had removed the wet cloth from her forehead and waited for a little while after Kagome had closed her eyes. Once he was positive that she was deeply asleep, he softly brushed his claws through Kagome's raven hair, brushing a few stray strands from her face. He had been right in thinking that her hair looked as soft as it felt.

(He was ready to remove his hand in case she woke up though; he didn't want to frighten her.)

_'She looks so peaceful,' _he thought as he stared at her gentle, angelic face. She turned her head slightly and continued to breathe the lavender scent in her sleep. She had such a beautiful, peaceful look over her face that it took his breath away.

Gulping silently, he decided to push his luck. His fingers began to gently stroke her cheek. She was very soft and warm… her skin felt delicate and fragile beneath his fingers.

As his hand continued to lightly stroke her face he said quietly, (although he knew that she couldn't hear him now) "Kagome…Why are you making me feel this way… why is it whenever I'm with you… I feel so at ease and happy? What are you doing to me?"

Before he could stop himself, he began to lower his face to hers. His silver hair draped across his shoulders which created a curtain that blocked out the rest of the world. He lowered his head down to plant a soft kiss on Kagome's forehead. He then stood up.

As he looked down at her, he saw that, even sick, she was still the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen in his life. To him… she was an angel without wings… his beautiful angel with wings as white as snow and that shone with a blinding light…

"Sleep well, Kagome," He said and gathered the empty bowl and goblet.

That night… he dreamt of an angel with chocolate brown eyes…

**(Next chapter Inuyasha takes Kagome somewhere that he's never shown anyone else. What will happen? Inuyasha only has 12 more days before time is up! Will they make it in time? And what is the wish that Kagome makes on a shooting star?)**

**Next chapter: "Inuyasha…" said Kagome quietly. "I learned at a young age… that when you're normal you blend in. And when you blend in… you become invisible. I'm not like other girls because I don't want to disappear…"**

**I had so much fun with voting for the chapter names I've decided to do it for this chapter also. Which one sounds better? And if you come up with another name then feel free to share!**

**'Falling Star' **

**'I What See That You Can't'**

**'I Don't Want You Disappear'**

**Or**

**'When You Blend, You Are Invisible'**


	16. Falling Star

**The winner was Falling Star!**

**Chapter 15- Falling Star**

Kagome awoke feeling as if she had slept for a lifetime. She sat up in her bed so that she could get a good look around her room. _'How long have I've been asleep?'_ she thought to herself as she forced her body to get out of bed. She could still smell the sweet scent of the lavender all over her room and it brought her to a state of instant serenity. She had trouble getting her body to cooperate after being asleep for so long, and her muscles felt tired and weak. Nevertheless, she made her way over to her window so that she could gaze outside; she knew that she must have been asleep for a long time, for it was dark. She opened the window to feel a soft, cool wind blow in before she went out on her balcony. She leaned on the railing to try to get a better look on the courtyard below her.

She could just make out the silhouette of a person leaning up against the castle wall as if in pain. She didn't have to guess who it was and why he was down there. She quickly went to the wardrobe to grab a white kimono with simple, yet graceful, embroidery. She was about to leave when her eyes fell on the necklace that Inuyasha had given her… she couldn't help it… she put it on. And before leaving her room, she grabbed something that she had been meaning to give to Inuyasha before she got sick.

_*Outside*_

Another night of pain…

Inuyasha didn't know how much more of these times of pain he could take. Not long after he left Kagome's room, he could feel another attack coming. He bolted up to his room and locked himself inside as he let the agony take control.

Thankfully, it only lasted until sunrise and now he was allowed to leave his room without having to worry about hurting anyone… especially Kagome.

As he thought of her, he put his fingers to his lips where, just yesterday had kissed her on the forehead… his lips still burned with a fire that he didn't understand, but still enjoyed…

Damn it! What the hell was wrong with him? He leaned back against the castle wall to try to clear his mind… of her scent… but instead of it going away, it seemed to be getting stronger with each second… why…?

"Inuyasha?"

Oh, that's why.

He turned his head towards the sound of her voice and waited for her to appear… his angel of light…

And appear she did… she was dressed all in white and carried a smile that seemed to light up his world…

… and to him… the way that her body was bathed from the moonlight above them made her look as though she were an angel sent from heaven…

"Hey," he said softy as she approached him. "Glad to see you're finally up. You've been sleeping all day yesterday, and today." In truth he was starting to worry why she hadn't gotten up before now.

"Two days?" asked Kagome in horror. "I've been sleeping for two days?" she then stretched her sore arms above her head, "No wonder I feel so well rested."

He couldn't help but smile at that; but winced in pain and had to turn his head away.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked and came closer. "Are you ok?"

_'No, of course he not,'_ she thought to herself. She could tell right away that he had been in pain again. She could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes again as she looked at his tired and bloody form. "Inuyasha?" she asked him gently as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Do you need anything?"

"N—no" he stammered as he turned his head farther away from her, his voice nervous all of a sudden. _'Why am I so nervous?"_ he thought. _"It's only Kagome?'_

"Inuyasha," Kagome voice called out from what sounded far away.

Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts as he finally heard Kagome's voice. He looked back up into her anxious face and felt sick to his stomach to know that he was causing her to worry about her.

"What is it Kagome?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that; is not the first time you space out like this."

"I was just thinking…" he said casually.

"About?" pressed on Kagome.

"About a lot of things," snapped back Inuyasha. Damn, why was he always ready to snap at her? "Sorry… if you wouldn't mind… I wanted to show you something." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Now?" Kagome asked in surprise. "But it's late and you're…"

"Keh," was his answer as he stood up. "These wounds aren't that bad." He grabbed hold of her hand and began to lead her away from the castle. "I've wanted to show you something for awhile now… and I think that you'll like it."

He led the way away from the castle and towards the trees. The tall dark trees were even more intimating in the dark than the last time Kagome had been forced to go through it. Only this time, she felt safe… after all Inuyasha was with her…

For the first time, she was thankful for the dark; for it covered her blushing face. They continued walking together, hand in hand, Kagome couldn't see anything in front of her except for the silver hair that shone in the weak light from the moon above them.

"Be careful," said Inuyasha suddenly. She was about to ask what for when she noticed the sharp rocks scattered everywhere, and the path had become broken and littered with branches. She didn't worry however as she let Inuyasha lead her even deeper into the forest. But after awhile she finally asked, "Inuyasha? Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see," was his typical answer. The duo was silent but for once, the silence felt comfortable and not awkward or forced. Instead it was peaceful, companionable, and relaxing. She didn't bother saying anything else for another few minutes until he stopped suddenly.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked again.

He didn't answer… he merely pointed towards an eerie light between a pair of large oak trees. "Through there…"

Kagome let go of his hand and walked forward until she passed the oak trees… and gasped in amazement…

She had just stepped into a small clearing surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of trees. The leaves and grass blades danced in the night air while a small waterfall dripped into a river with light splashes and which shone with sparkling moonlight. The grounds around the river where dark but she could see that even in this low light that in the day they would be fields of tall grass and wildflowers. There were so many flowers growing it was like they were swarming, gracefully and clamor and the moon cast a pale unearthly glow upon the blossoms. The fallen tree was underneath a giant cherry blossom tree was in full bloom as its pink, now glowing pale, flowering branches waved in a soft breeze. She could smell the sweet aroma from every petal. A fallen tree was right underneath it, perfect for sitting on. It was like an outdoor room.

She then cast her eyes skyward at the full moon, and she was speechless when she saw the sky was full of stars that seemed to shine right above this spot alone. Kagome was completely mesmerized by them and felt that she could stare at them forever.

"This place is beautiful," Kagome breathed. "I never knew that there was a clearing like this in the middle of the forest…"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I used to train a lot here. This was my secret hiding spot. I come here whenever I want to get out of the castle and to be alone. I know that staying in the castle all the time can drive you stir-crazy and I thought that you would like it here…"

Kagome smiled. "I don't like it here…"

She could hear Inuyasha's breathing stop for a second before she finished, "I LOVE it here…" when she heard his sigh of relief she went on asking, "Is this where you go whenever you disappear?"

"Sometimes."

Kagome then noticed that a few large trees had giant slashes on them as if claws had made the deep gouges. She presumed that Inuyasha used them as targets. She walked by the river to bend down to the bunches of wildflowers to get a better look at them.

"This place really is beautiful," she said softly. "Thank you for bringing me here." She smiled at him and her eyes sparkled, while the gentle night breeze danced with her raven tresses.

Inuyasha's breath caught in his throat. He was still amazed by her beauty… her eyes… her face… her voice… her scent… heck, even her name. She truly had no idea how beautiful she was to him.

'Beautiful,' Inuyasha's thought. She was beautiful. He continued to watch her for a while, wondering what to say to her. As he stared at her he could feel his heart beginning to beat faster and that annoying blush creeping up into his face again. He couldn't help but stare at her, he didn't know if it was her scent mixed in the flowers around him, combined with the glowing moonlight and gentle breeze… but to him, she was the most beautiful creature on the face of the earth. No one else in the world can even compare… in his eyes she was perfect. Not only perfect, but warm, gentle, forgiving…

Kagome could only stare at him for staring at her. _'Why is he looking at me like that?'_ she thought to herself. Kagome sat there and tried to figure out what was happening. He had scared her, yes, but she was wrapped up in him. His gorgeous body, his silver hair that shone like starlight, his handsome face… even the red eyes and claws seemed beautiful to her… although she wished more than anything at the moment to see his eyes as they were meant to be… a pair of golden orbs…

And, of course, atop his head, rested his two, fuzzy, silver dog ears that she loved so dearly.

"What is it?" asked Kagome when she was starting to get uncomfortable at his staring.

"No—nothing," Inuyasha stammered lamely. Unwilling, he turned his head and walked a few feet away so that he could sit on the fallen tree.

As he stared at the ground, he could hear Kagome getting up so that she could walk and then sitting down next to him.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" she asked in a worried voice.

Inuyasha sighed, "What's wrong is that… I'm running out of time Kagome."

At first Kagome didn't understand what he meant. Until it hit her. "You mean…? The curse?"

As he nodded, Kagome felt the tears burning as they began to spill down her cheeks. And before she could stop herself she put her arms around his shoulders. She heard him gasp slightly before going rigid. "Oh, Inuyasha… I wish that there was something that I could do…"

"Kagome…" said Inuyasha so quietly that she might have imagined it. He then reached over and took one of her hands in his own and held it.

Butterflies seemed to be swarming around in Kagome's stomach as soon as he touched her. Feeling the gentle brush of his fingers sent shivers down her spine. Then came another awkward silence that she was so used these days. Usually, it was the kind of silence that you longed to break… but this time it was different. It's the kind of silence that she didn't mind sitting through. This was the kind that lets someone know that they are there for you. Maybe it was just his touch that was making her feel this way?

"You know…" she said after who-knows-how-long of sitting there. "My father once said to me, that you shouldn't push yourself so hard. And that the best things happen when not expected. I mean, look at me. If you let me go that night… we wouldn't be here talking now would we?"

Inuyasha let out a deep sigh as he stared long and hard into her eyes… This woman changed his life in a blink of an eye; this woman was slowly beginning to put his soul back together… and she didn't even know it. He protects her… and she takes care of him… she really was an angel sent from above. Whenever he was with her, he felt overcome with a sudden calm. She had given him a life that seemed worthwhile… it became even better every time he saw her smile. It was one of those magical things that made his heart speed up a little faster and feeling as if a fire was burning in his chest. She made him feel special, made him feel alive again. Every time he was with her, it seems like it was the perfect place. He was finding it harder and harder NOT to smile when he was with her. What was she making him feel?

Finally, he spoke up in a quiet voice, "Kagome…You aren't like anyone else I've ever met… how come you aren't like normal girls?"

"Inuyasha…" said Kagome quietly. "I learned at a young age… that when you're normal you blend in. And when you blend in… you become invisible. I'm not like other girls because I don't want to disappear… I mean… what's so special about being like everyone else? I think that it's good to be different, even if others don't like it."

"I…" whispered Inuyasha. "I guess…"

The curse was hurting him in more ways than she originally thought…

For the last few weeks, although they tried to hide it, her friends in the castle had grown optimistic and happy. As though they thought that the curse might be broken in just a few days, however they still haven't told her why or how come. They seemed so convinced that she would set the all free, but they still wouldn't tell her how.

Kagome wished that she could think that Inuyasha was also growing optimistic and happy. Much as it hurt her to admit it, he had clearly given up. He didn't seem to care about his fate as much anymore.

They both sat there, enjoying each other's silent company for a long time. After a little while however, Kagome cleared her throat and moved away from him, and he let go of her hand in the process. He looked at her, obviously curious as to what she was going to do now. He saw her reach into her sleeve and take hold of something.

"Before I give this gift to you," she says quietly, voice full of nervousness, "I want you to know that I worked very hard on it, so at least pretend to like it, Ok?"

He was amazed. She had gotten him a present? Why? He couldn't immediately think of anything that made him worthy of one. All of his thoughts stopped as she looked him in the eye with a serious expression. Inuyasha could only nod numbly.

She nods determinedly in reply, Inuyasha could see that her face had turned as red as a tomato, and she thrust out her arms towards him, eyes on the ground.

What he saw took his breath away, not because of its extravagance, but indeed, because of it's elegant simplicity. Staring back at him was a string of large wooden beads, every five beads is separated by a fang of some animal or other. The beads shone a dark brown, almost a purplish color. He reaches out and runs a finger over the beads. "Kagome…I don't know what to say…"

She reaches out a hand and runs her own fingers over it, "I… I wanted to thank you for the necklace that you've given to me." She then reached up to touch his mother's necklace before continuing, "Sango told me that it was your mothers and I know that it much have meant a lot to you. I went out the other night to gather the things that I needed to make it and I guess that I was out for too long… I guess that was why I got sick… I just wanted to… just take this as a thank you for being so kind to me and, well, saving my life. C…can I?" she asks quietly, motioning to the necklace.

Inuyasha just dumbly nods, numb from amazement. _'She…got sick trying to make something for me?'_

As he thinks this, she carefully put her arms around his neck to tie it. He had never been as close to her before now and he felt his heart stop for a moment. As she tied it, he was taking as many deep breaths as he could get; her scent was driving him wild. When he felt the weight of the beads settle around his neck, Kagome then pulled back. He stares in wonder at the beads before he looked up to Kagome. He saw her standing up and turned away from him with her hands behind her back, and he knew that she was too embarrassed to look at him.

He couldn't help himself at that point. He got up and, with her back to him, encircled her with his arms, as he held her close. The same way that his mother used to hold him… he held his angel of light close to the heart.

No words were needed as they just stood there for a long, long time. Even as the moonlight was starting to fade as the moon started to set, the duo didn't seem to notice anything else around them, except each other and the arms that were holding them together.

As Kagome looked up at the fading star-filled sky. She didn't want the moment to end… moment's like this should be allowed to last forever… she saw a star shoot across the sky…_'A shooting star!' _she thought in surprise. She closed her eyes and thought,_ 'Oh, Falling star… can you hear me? I know I'm a little too old for this, but I don't care. I wish that I can help Inuyasha. I wish that I can break this curse he and everyone else in the castle are under and to show him that there are things worth living for in the future… both for him and for me… and…' _she hesitated for a brief moment. _'I wish to understand why I feel this way around him… what is it that I'm feeling? Why does my dark angel make my heart feel like this?'_

Once she had made her wish, she leaned back into Inuyasha's chest and let his arms hold her against him gently. She kept her eyes shut and just wanted to listen to Inuyasha's quiet breathing. In fact, neither of them didn't notice anything else that was going on until the sun had fully risen. Inuyasha was about to tell Kagome that they had to get back to the castle when he saw that she had fallen asleep in Inuyasha's embrace.

He turned her around in his arms slightly so that he could get a better look at her face. She was sleeping peacefully once again and he smiled. As he held her, he wanted to feel that burning feeling on his lips again. Carefully, he leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on each of her closed eyelids.

He carried her on his back all the way back to the castle, of course he didn't mind it one bit.

**Things are really starting to heat up between Inuyasha and Kagome. But they still haven't realized what their feelings are yet! What will happen? Inuyasha only has about 10 more days! Will they understand their feelings in time? Will Kagome's wish come true?**

**Next chapter: **

**"Thank you Inuyasha." said Kagome quietly. **

**Inuyasha shook his head as he stared at her incredulity. "For what?" he asked her confused. **

**"For all the little things…" answered Kagome as she took a step towards him. "Listening to me when I needed someone to talk to… feeding the birds together… showing me that clearing in the forest… for treating me like a person and not just… some prize to be won." She took another step forward until they stood inches away… he couldn't seem to turn his eyes away from her. He gently put his clawed hand underneath her chin to raise her face to look up at him. For a minute, never of them seemed able to move; Inuyasha then slowly began to lower his head towards her… she could feel his hot breath as his face came closer to her own… she closed her eyes as he was only a few centimeters away and…**

**(Like the preview?)**

**Here are the possible chapter names. And if you come up with another name then feel free to share! Let me know if you enjoy voting for these names as much as I do. And leave as much reviews as you like. The more there are, the faster I can put them up!**

**'The Little Things' **

**'Set Me Free'**

**'Silenced Screams' **

**'The Hands of Time'**

**'The Simple Things' **


	17. Set Me Free

**The winner was...**

**Chapter 16- Set Me Free**

"Well," Miroku was saying to Inuyasha from inside the den. "Do you want to share where you and Kagome were last night?"

"Miroku," growled Inuyasha as he stared out the window with Miroku behind him. "Do you want to keep all your teeth?"

Inuyasha was wishing that he didn't let anyone see him as he carried Kagome back to the castle.

_*Flashback*_

_The forest is actually quite beautiful in the day, although Inuyasha hardly noticed it. Kagome didn't stir once as he carried her back through the forest. _

_The only things that he was focusing on were Kagome's gentle breathing, and the sound of his own heart beating in his chest. He could feel his lips burning from where they had touched Kagome's closed eyelids… in fact; he was suddenly visited by strong desire to kiss her once again. He shook his head. What the hell was the matter with him?_

_'No,' he thought viciously. If Kagome woke up, then she would never talk to him again; he was sure of it. He would not risk losing his friendship with Kagome. She had become the only hope he had left. He hated hoping. _

_But why did he want to kiss her so badly? What made this girl so special to him? He shook off those thoughts also when the castle came into view. He really needed to start figuring out what going on here._

_Once he reached the foot of the castle he started to climb the walls; trying to move as gently as possible, so as to not wake Kagome. He jumped from window ledge to balcony, until he landed on Kagome's own balcony and opened the door. _

_As soon as he stepped inside, he quietly pulled Kagome off his back and picked her up into his arms. He gazed as her sleeping face for awhile before finally reaching her bed and laid her on top of her covers gently. _

_He ran his clawed thumb softly across her forehead, just to brush her bangs and stray hair away from her face. Figuring that it would be best to let her sleep, he left the room… only to come face to face with Miroku._

_Miroku had a smug look on his face as he asked, "So… what have you've been up to?"_

_*End of Flashback*_

Miroku shrugged. "I was just looking out one of the windows this morning and I saw you coming out of the forest with Kagome sleeping on your back. I just want to know what happened."

"LISTEN!" shouted Inuyasha whirling around to glare at him. "NOTHING HAPPENED LAST NIGHT!"

"If that's true, then why are you so angry about it?" asked Miroku shrewdly.

Inuyasha was taking in deep breathes, using every ounce of his self-control not to strangle Miroku. "Nothing happened," he hissed menacingly as he flexed his fingers, itching to place them around Miroku's throat.

"Then why did I smell your scent on Kagome?" asked Miroku with his eyebrows raised.

"Because I carried her back, idiot," barked Inuyasha turning his back on Miroku to stare at the wall.

"No," said Miroku. "I could smell your scent all over her. Like you've been holding her in your arms all night or something."

Inuyasha's eyes widen, he felt the blood rush to his face, and his heart stopped beating for a second. Images of last night filtered through his mind. Him showing Kagome the clearing in the woods, the way that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her, the way that she held him for comfort, when she gave him the necklace, how he held her close to his heart all night… and the small kisses he gave her…

He was suddenly thankful that Miroku couldn't see his face. "Keh, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, if nothing happened," went on Miroku. "You mind telling me where you got that necklace?"

Inuyasha heard enough. He headed towards the door before saying, "I thought that she would like to see the forest at night. I thought that she might be going crazy being inside the castle all the time."

He flashed Miroku a dark look before saying; "I just showed her around. She got tired so I let her sleep while I carried her back. Nothing else happened last night so mind your own business!" he then slammed the door behind him.

Miroku shook his head exasperatedly. _'Who does he think he's kidding? Inuyasha… when are you gonna realize what your feelings are?' _he sighed. Time was running out. Inuyasha only had about 9 maybe 8 more days left; it was obvious that he cared deeply for Kagome… but Inuyasha had to admit how he felt. _'Kagome… I know that you have what it takes to break this curse… but time is running out. The hands of time are not on our side, please you must hurry.'_

_(A couple hours later)_

Kagome opened her eyes and realized that she wasn't in the forest anymore… but staring up at her bedroom ceiling. She blinked a few times before sitting up and looking around her.

_'Was it… was it all just a dream?'_ she thought to herself. Did she just dream about that clearing in the woods? She looked down at her clothes before smiling. It wasn't a dream; she was wearing the white kimono from last night.

Now she remembered what happened. She fell asleep; Inuyasha must have carried her back.

Why is it that every time she thinks about Inuyasha lately, she starts to blush? She seriously needed to figure out what was going on.

She got out of bed, and changed out of her white kimono for a green one with floral prints. Just as she finished dressing, she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," Kagome called.

Sango entered and smiled when she saw Kagome was up. "Kagome! I'm glad you're finally up! We were all starting to get worried."

Kagome smiled at her. "It's alright, Sango. I'm feeling a lot better than I did." She walked over to her and gave her a quick hug before asking, "Did I miss anything while I was sick?"

Sango shrugged. "Nothing interesting. Miroku was being an idiot as usual, and because you were sleeping, Kohaku was forced to spend endless hours playing with Rin and Shippo. I'm sure that they'll going to be happy to see you up and about again."

The two left the room; Kagome listening to Sango tell how she was forced to rub Miroku's face into the castle wall because he didn't understand how to keep his hands to himself. Sango suddenly stopped and started to sniff the air.

"What is it?" asked Kagome curiously. "What are you smelling?"

"You," said Sango taking another deep whiff.

"What?" Kagome exclaimed in surprise. "Why? Is there something wrong with my smell?"

"No," Sango said slowly. "It's not your scent but Inuyasha's I smell.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah," Sango took a step nearer and continued to smell her. "I can smell Inuyasha's smell all over you… why is that?"

Kagome quickly turned her head away to hide her blush. "I got up last night and went out for some air," she explained. "Inuyasha was outside, and he wanted to show me the forest. I feel asleep and he carried me back I guess."

"Oh," said Sango. "I was just thinking…"

"Thinking about what?" snapped Kagome getting angry.

Sango shrugged again. "I was just wondering what happened last night between you two that's all. The way that his smell is around you… it's like he was holding you all night."

_'She could smell that?'_ thought Kagome in a panic remembering how Inuyasha had put his arms around her and held her close for most of the night. But nothing else happened. "Sango I don't know what you're talking about," she said rather coldly. "Really, nothing happened. Inuyasha showed me the forest, I got tired, and I fell asleep so he had to carry me back. That's all."

She stopped walking. "Sango, I'm going to go and look for Shippo and Rin. I'm sure they're worried." She turned and left. But not before thinking, _'I have to go and see Inuyasha tonight. I need to know what it is that I'm feeling around him. Maybe he can help give me some answers.'_

When she left, she didn't notice that Sango was smiling.

_*Later on, after dinner Kagome was taking a bath and Inuyasha was sleeping in his room*_

"But if they're in love…" said Rin in confusion. "Then shouldn't the curse be broken by now?"

"It's not that simple Rin," said Miroku.

"Why?" asked Shippo. "If they both like each other then that should be enough to break the curse and turn us all back into humans, right?"

"Because it's not enough," said Sango sadly. "We know that they have strong feelings for each other, but I'm afraid that they haven't realized them yet."

"They have to **admit** their feelings…" Miroku had cut across. "If they truly are in love, then they have to say it out loud to each other."

"**IF** they are in love?" repeated Rin.

"We all know that they care for each other, but we still don't know for sure if they are fully in love," answered Sango.

"If they are fully in love then they have to say it out loud," Miroku said simply. "Kagome has to fall in love with Inuyasha without knowing that's how to break the curse. And then she has to say the words 'Inuyasha… I love you' or something like that. The same goes for Inuyasha. He has to say to Kagome that he loves her. Once they do, then the curse will be broken and we all be free."

"What's falling in love like?" asked Shippo curiously.

"It's like an avalanche where you have to run for your life," said Miroku smiling. Sango slapped him upside the head.

"You both are too young to understand love for now…" said Sango darkly. "The point is the curse won't be broken unless those two are truly in love, and admit those feeling."

"Ok," said Rin happily. "That's all we have to do? Well, let's go and ask them and…"

"NO!" Sango and Miroku shouted making Rin and Shippo jump.

"What was that for?" yelled Shippo.

"Think about Inuyasha's and Kagome's personalities," said Miroku. "I talked to this morning Inuyasha and he got really angry for even bringing up the subject. In fact, he looked like he was ready to kill me. I think talking to them about this will cause more harm than good."

"Miroku's right for once," said Sango as Miroku feint a hurt expression. "I spoke with Kagome earlier, and when I brought up the subject about her feelings, she got really defensive about it. No, we can't bring the issue up again if we can help it. They'll just end up denying it and pushing the other away; that's the last thing that we want."

"So…" said Shippo quietly. "All we can do now is wait?"

"I'm afraid," answered Miroku with a solemn look on his face. "That's all we can do."

"But," said Sango suddenly which caused the others to look at her. "That doesn't mean that we can't give them both a little push in the right direction."

Miroku smiled. "That's exactly why we must leave them alone if they are ever in the same room."

"Why do we have to leave if they are alone?" asked Rin confused.

"Yeah," agreed Shippo. "How is leaving them alone going to help them fall in love?"

"Remind me to explain it to you when you both are old enough to understand," said Miroku as he let the room. "Oh, come on Miroku," shouted Shippo as he ran after him. "How is it going to help?"

When the boys had left, Sango told Rin to come and help with the chores. "Sango?" asked Rin as they headed downstairs. "How do you make someone fall in love with you?"

Sango was silent for a moment before she looked at Miroku's retreating back. "I don't think that you can ever MAKE a person fall in love with you. It just happens when you least expect it. Sometimes it's easy to fall in love, and other times… it's nearly impossible." Rin looked from Sango to Miroku and back again; but she didn't notice the strange look in Sango's eyes.

"But…" said Rin. "Miroku doesn't seem to have any trouble falling in love."

Sango rolled her eyes. "He might get attention, but attention isn't the same thing as love." She sighed. "I guess the only advice I can give you… when in doubt listen to your heart… for your head will tell lies."

_(That night)_

Inuyasha hadn't had any sleep for awhile. He'd been having nightmares for the last few days and they were starting to get worse.

_"Going somewhere, wench?" A cold voice echoed through the empty castle._

_Inuyasha watched the girl running down a flight of stairs. There was something about this girl that attracted him…as if he had some sort of bond with her. The demon shook his head as his soon-to-be prey danced in his mind. He leapt from his hiding place, landing softly behind the woman. In a flash of red, before she realized what had happened, he had a clawed hand wrapped around her throat._

_The girl gasped. Struggling, she brought her hands up to try and pry his fingers off of her neck. She tugged at his strong arms, which were slowly cutting off her air supply. "I-Inu-Inuya-Inuyasha." Her voice was horse and shaky, as she struggled just to breathe. With each failed deep breath, the girl's attempts to free herself were becoming weaker and more pathetic. _

_After a few minutes of struggling, the girl's arms fell weakly to her sides; and he could see that she was fighting just to stay awake. Beads of sweat formed with each breath; as her eyes finally closed Inuyasha grinned… he thought that this girl was finally dead…_

_Suddenly the girl brought her arm up and took a hold of his arm again; but this time he felt a strong, searing pain spread throughout his body. He screamed in pain before he harshly dropped the priestess. Damn her! She used her spiritual powers to burn his arm. _

_She landed on the ground and began to crawl out of his reach, gasping for air. She recovered before Inuyasha had; she pushed herself onto her feet and began to run… she reached the front doors and was able to make it outside._

_Inuyasha let out a roar so loud that you could hear it for miles away. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT GIRL! YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN ESCAPE FROM ME JUST BY RUNNING OUTSIDE? I'M AFRAID THAT YOU JUST MADE THE LAST MISTAKE YOU'LL EVER MAKE!"_

_He chased after the girl… thirsty for her blood._

_The wind had begun to blow fiercely, blowing her raven hair around violently. Beams of light in the shape of claws had hit and torn her clothes revealing deep wounds, stains of blood, and dirt. In spite of the pain, the girl continued to run even faster, and pushing her body to its limits._

_He could smell salt from tears coming from the girl, but he still continued the chase. He didn't know why, but he wanted this girl dead… he wanted to see the light leave her eyes… _

_The trees moaned and creaked in the wind, and the beams from the moon were soon shaded by the thick growth of forest. The pathway grew darker and Inuyasha knew that it would be difficult for the wench's human eyes to see anything. He watched, amused, as she blindly darted between trees, her tears never stopping. Outstretched roots scratched at her ankles and legs, while branches from above scratched her arms and face, emitting more blood from her already weakened body. And yet, through all the pain, she kept running._

_In desperation, she yelled out into the night, calling for someone, anyone, to come and save her. Her voice rang out, echoing off the tress; Inuyasha smiled, he knew that no one could hear her. No one would come to her aid. It was just her and him… of course, it won't be for much longer._

_The girl's foot caught a protruding root and she fell to the ground. He watched as she winced in pain; she then wrapped her arms tightly around her body, as she tried to regain her footing. As she got to her feet, exhaustion finally caught up with her, causing her to collapse once more. She sobbed lightly, staring blankly at her bloodied hands. There was no use running now; he knew that she knew that he was here._

_"So, you thought you could run, did you?" he asked her as he slowly walked over to where she lay._

_The young woman looked up at him when he was standing right above her. She spoke softly, her voice cracking, "P-Please…Inuyasha… don't you know me? This isn't you…" Her tears now slid off her cheeks in a flood._

_The half demon gazed at the young girl coldly, unaffected by her words. He raised his claw above her… this was it… he would finish her off right here and now…_

_The wind encircled him as he stood above her, blowing his silver hair around violently. It flew to the side of his head, covering his face… expect for the blood-red eyes. Inuyasha gave her an evil grin before saying softly, "Goodbye."_

_"Inuyasha, you have to snap out of it!" the girl desperately cried out. She stretched out her hand, as if she hoped that he would take it. Inuyasha hesitated for a moment. The girl stood up and took hold of the front of his shirt before saying softly, "Please…Inuyasha."_

_He quickly struck her across the face with the back of his free hand. She fell onto her back; a cry of pain escaped her lips when she hit the ground. With tears silently running down her cheeks, he knew that her body no longer had the will to fight._

_He smiled…_

_… as a blinding light filled the forest._

_A scream floated into the night sky. _

_And among the splintered trees, a bloody figure lay motionless on the ground… it was the figure of a young woman. Her sprawled form lay upon her side; her disheveled hair lightly covering her pale, scathed face. Blood trickled down from her mouth and wounds which was staining the earth. Her chest remained still; no breath passed through her lips. The heart within her chest slowed… thump… thump… th-thump… th-thump…_

_…thump… _

_It then fell silent._

_The sun began to emerge from behind the rolling land, painting the horizon in light pastels of color. The thick sheet of darkness that had dwelled over the troubled land was chased away by the glowing rays of sunlight. _

_Amid the destruction, he stood, his shoulders heaving, his chest rose and fell heavily as his racing heart slowed to its normal pace. His eyes remained hidden beneath his silver bangs as he fell to his hands and knees._

_After a little while Inuyasha was able to stand up and walked over to where his prey lay. He looked down at her face… his eyes widened as he frantically searched her face and body for any signs of life. His breaths became shaky and staggered as his eyes fell upon countless wounds, cuts, and bruises. Her clothing was torn and stained with mud, filth, and blood; her hair hung in loose waves, entangled with bristles, twigs, and dirt._

_"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered her name, feeling warm tears pushing at his eyes. Falling to his knees besides her, he took the priestess into his arms .He raised a shaking clawed hand up to her face and gently brushed back her bangs and loose hair. "Kagome…open your eyes."_

_She remained still, her heartbeat gone._

_Inuyasha brought her head into his chest, laying his cheek upon her hair. His hands shook as he clutched her tightly into his body, trying desperately to wake her up. "Kagome… please… you can't die! You can't leave me!"_

_Silence was all that greeted him._

_Inuyasha loosened his grip to scan her face once more, his heart beating rapidly. Her once glowing, creamy skin was pale and lifeless; her chocolate brown eyes remained hidden beneath her eyelids. Tear stains were smeared her cheeks, mixing with the bloodied cuts, and blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Her chest remained still, showing little effort of life._

_"Kagome..." Inuyasha grasped her into his chest once again. His voice shook with each word, "You idiot…why were you out here all alone…? why didn't you wait for me to come and…"_

_The half-demon gasped, his lip quivering slightly, "N-no." He clutched the limp priestess, even tighter into his chest. He clasped his eyes together tightly, holding back the overwhelming emotion that slowly swelled within him. He shook his head violently, as if trying to wake himself out of a bad dream. Tears pushed harder at his eyelids as he inhaled a shaky breath._

_"Bu…but… why…?" he croaked out. "How could I… I would never…"_

_"I'll tell you why," said a sad voice from behind him._

_Inuyasha spun around to find the source of the voice; a woman with long black hair was standing with her back to him. "You cannot love… that is why…" she said as she slowly turned her face to meet his own._

_Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror… "Ki…Kikyo?" he croaked. _

_"You killed her," Kikyo said shaking her head with a piteous expression. "She was your only chance to break my curse, and still… you killed her."_

_"No!" Inuyasha yelled, shaking his head. "I-I couldn't… I was… I would never…"_

_"You couldn't protect her from yourself," Kikyo went on. "You're the one that killed her."_

_"No…" His entire body shook with rage and pain as his shoulders heaved with each breath. He stared at his hands, which were drenched in Kagome's blood._

_"Your hands killed her. Those hands of yours… were the ones that ended her life."_

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, gasping for breath, sweat dripping down his face.

He looked wildly around, half-expecting to be in the woods. No, he was in his bedroom… he stared down at his hands… expecting to see and smell Kagome's blood… no, his hands were clean…

He let out a sigh of relief. _'That dream again,'_ he thought. For the last few nights he had been having that nightmare. He had gone all demon, he killed Kagome, and then Kikyo would appear…

Every time that he had that dream, they would get worse; in fact, this time, it took everything he had to keep himself from screaming out loud. Why is this happening? Why would he be having that dream? He knew that he was running out of time, but he would never…

Knock, knock

Inuyasha's head snapped up. "Who's there?" he called out trying to sound as he normally did.

"It's me," called that familiar voice that he would know anywhere. "I just wanted to talk to you."

The door opened and Kagome stuck her head in. When she saw that he was in bed she asked, "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No," answered Inuyasha getting up and walking forward. "What did you want?"

Kagome slipped into the room. "Sorry to bother you…" feeling a little nervous, Kagome hesitantly looked around the room. It looked just like the last time she was here; it was still dark, filthy, and shredded. The walls were still made of wood and still had the swords hanging everywhere. Even the door to the balcony was open with the curtains fluttering in the wind, and light from the setting sun flooded into the room. And there in the center was the white marble table, with an almost competed jewel floating inside. Kagome cast her eyes upon the jewel for a moment before she looked back at Inuyasha and said to him, "I wanted to see you."

Inuyasha turned to look out from the balcony. _'She wanted to see me?'_ he thought stunned. As he stood there, he felt her walk over and stand right next to him. "I need to figure out who I am. I just had a feeling that seeing you would help."

"Who you are?" repeated Inuyasha. "What are you talking about? You're Kagome."

Kagome shrugged. "I used to think that I knew who I was… but ever since I've arrived here, I don't know anymore. I mean…" she leaned on the balcony railing, "I can't help but shake the feeling like I'm here for a reason… that my coming here was no coincidence."

Inuyasha gazed at her as she stared out at the setting sun. Did she really mean that? Or was she just saying it? "I'm not sure that I understand, Kagome," he said.

"I can't answer you because I don't understand the question either," she turned to look back at him for a moment before she stepped inside again. "I guess what I'm trying to say… is that I'm confused. I just don't know anymore."

He watched her walk around his room, as he was left feeling a deep feeling of guilt. He wanted to help her… but how can he? When he can't even help himself?

"You know… you really were cute…" said Kagome's voice bringing him back to reality. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice where she was standing. She was holding the painting of him and his mother once again.

"So this is your mother?" asked Kagome quietly as she stared at the painting.

Inuyasha's eyes turned sad before he answered yes.

Kagome ran her finger across the painting before saying, "She was very pretty."

"Yeah," he said harshly before walking towards her and pulling the picture from her hands. He stared at it for a brief moment before laying it back down.

They both stood there in silence.

"Kagome…?"

Kagome looked up at him in confusion. "What is it?"

"Listen…" Inuyasha was having trouble choosing the right words. "Look…" he finally said after another long stretch of silence. "If… if the curse isn't broken in by the end of next week… I want you to leave the castle and never return."

Kagome felt her jaw drop. She put her hand on her forehead and the other one on Inuyasha's head so that she could check his temperature. "No… no fever…"

"Keh, stupid," said Inuyasha brushing her hand from him. "I only have about a week left before the curse becomes impossible to break. See?" he pointed to the nearly completed jewel that was still floating beneath the glass. "Just little over a week left. I have only that much time before I become a monster."

"A monster?" repeated Kagome scared. "What do you mean a monster?"

"Its part of the curse that was placed on me, Kagome," answered Inuyasha sadly. "Once the jewel becomes whole… if I haven't found the way to break it by the time it's completed… I will become a blood-thirsty monster that will know only how to kill…"

Kagome had gone deathly pale. She gulped. Inuyasha didn't want to see the look of horror on her face so he went on with his eyes looking over her head, "So… if I can't break the curse in time I want you to leave."

"But Inuyasha," said Kagome desperately. "How do we break the curse? Everyone here seems to think that I can help, but I don't have a clue how to. I want to help you… but no one will tell me how!"

"You need to break it without realizing it," said Inuyasha.

Kagome was dazed. She didn't expect for Inuyasha to say something like that. "Please stop speaking in riddles. What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just like it sounds like," said Inuyasha turning his eyes back down to meet hers. "If you are the one to break the curse then you need to do so without knowing it."

Kagome shook her head, "You aren't making any sense."

"I know," said Inuyasha. He sighed, "The point is… if it's too late to save me… then I want you and everyone else to leave the castle and never come back."

"But…" began Kagome but Inuyasha cut her off. As he looked at her, he remembered the terrible dreams… how her beautiful face might become scathed and bloody because of him, how he might be the one to make sure that her strong and pure heart would cease to stop beating. "I don't want to end up killing you… any of you guys. Once the jewel becomes whole I won't be myself anymore. I won't be to stop myself. I'm sorry… but I rather that you all leave the castle and living somewhere safely than being here where I might one day kill you." He sighed again before putting his clawed hand on Kagome's cheek. He grinned slightly when he saw her blush.

"If it's too late for me," he said softly. "If the curse isn't broken by the end of next week… then you will be free from our deal and will be able to go back to your family."

Kagome stared at him in amazement, "You're making it sound like it's already too late."

Inuyasha lowered his hand and took a few steps back from her. "I'm just making preparations for the rest of you. Anything can happen in the time that we have remaining. But I just want to make sure that you and the others are safe from me in case it's too late. I want you all to leave before I…"

Kagome stared at him in wonder. Did he really rather be alone in this castle than let anyone else near him if the curse isn't broken in time? Would he really end up dying all alone if something wasn't done? She felt her heart ache for the man standing before her… sure he was rough around the edges, but no one deserved the fate that was forced upon him. She stepped forward so that she could put her own hand on Inuyasha cheek, she smiled when she saw him blush.

"Thank you Inuyasha." said Kagome quietly.

Inuyasha shook his head as he stared at her incredulity. "For what?" he asked her confused.

"For all the little things…" answered Kagome as she took another step towards him. "Listening to me when I needed someone to talk to… feeding the birds together… showing me that clearing in the forest… for treating me like a person and not just some… prize to be won." She took another step forward until they only stood inches away… their hearts were pounding so fast that they both suddenly seemed to be having trouble breathing.

Inuyasha sighed. "You're welcome," was all he said. I mean what else could he say to her?

"You remember that day?" asked Kagome. "The morning after the night you protected me? The morning after I found out about your… condition?" Inuyasha hung his head in disgrace. His nightmare still fresh in his head.

"And I was tending to your wounds?" Kagome went on. When Inuyasha nodded, Kagome finished by saying, "That morning I realized that I was truly afraid."

Inuyasha turned his head away from her so that he could stare at the floor in shame. "You were afraid of me for almost killing you?" he asked knowing the answer.

"No," said Kagome simply. Inuyasha's head snapped up to stare at her. "But then…"

"You did frighten me when you were in your full demon state," Kagome made clear. "But it was the person behind that form that I was afraid for… I was afraid that **you** were going to die." Neither said anything for another minute. "I don't want you to die, Inuyasha," said Kagome. "I want you to be happy, and I want you to laugh a lot."

She lowered her head to look down at her feet, "I don't know what exactly I'll be able to do for you… but I want to help in any way that can."

He gently put his clawed hand underneath her chin to raise her face to look up at him. "This is enough," he said softly as they both became lost in each other's faces. "Just being her is enough for me…"

For a minute, never of them seemed able to move; Inuyasha then slowly began to lower his head towards her… Kagome could feel his hot breath as his face came closer to her own… she closed her eyes as he was only a few centimeters away and…

"Kagome?"

The sound of Shippo's voice was more than enough to bring both of them back to reality. The door opened and Shippo stuck his head in to look around. "There you are Kagome!" he called brightly. He then noticed that the two of them were standing far away from each other and were blushing a crimson red. "Hey?" asked Shippo in confusion. "Was I interrupting something?"

"N—no Shippo," said Kagome quickly turning away from Inuyasha and walking towards the tiny fox demon. At that moment, Inuyasha hated the kid with every fiber in his being.

"What did you need?"

Suddenly, another head stuck in. "We just wanted to know if you wanted to play a game with us Kagome," said Rin happily.

"Sure," said Kagome as they both went bounding away. Kagome looked back at Inuyasha; her face still red.

"I'll see you in the morning, ok Inuyasha?"

"Keh," said Inuyasha turning back to look out the window. Kagome shook her head with her eyes closed and her mouth smiling. "Goodnight," she finished and left.

_'Kagome…'_ he thought as he turned back to the door, as if hoping she would come back. _'If I have what it takes to fall in love with another person… I hope that person is you… I hope that you will be the one to set me free.'_

**(Thank you for sending me a quote Leo112!)**

**Next chapter: How can you expect two people to admit their feelings in almost a week? Will a small walk in the gardens help? Especially when they are surrounded by roses? (The very symbol of love?) Or will they remain in yet another awkward position?**

**'Thoughts of You'**

**'Red Rose Petals' **

**'Like A Rose' **

**'Awkward Silence'**

**'You Are On My Mind' **

**Preview:**

**_'You are like a rose Kagome…'_ thought Inuyasha. _'Beautiful, but dangerous as well. Why are you constantly on my mind lately?'_**

**"Love is just love Inuyasha; it can never be explained," said Kagome as she bent down to look at the roses. "My mother once said to me you can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel." **

**"What did she mean by that?" asked Inuyasha as he looked over her shoulder at her running her finger around the rose petals.**

**Kagome shrugged. "I guess she meant… no one is perfect until you fall in love with them. You can try to ignore their face… but your heart cannot."**

**_'No one is perfect until you fall in love with them?'_ thought Inuyasha stunned. But Kagome was perfect in his eyes… so did that mean that he was…**


	18. Like a Rose

**The winner… Like a Rose!**

**Chapter 17- Like a Rose**

The next morning, Kagome was sitting in the library with a book in her hands, although she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to it. She kept glancing out the window at the clear blue sky. It was no use.

She couldn't read inside on a day like this.

She got up from her chair and laid down her book; she decided to go and work in the gardens today. Of course, she was so lost in thought that she kept walking into walls and doorframes on her way down into the greenhouses. (What was she thinking about? Inuyasha of course.)

She was thinking of last night and what had happened… or rather… what almost happened.

_*Flashback*_

_"Listen…" Inuyasha was having trouble choosing the right words. "Look…" he finally said after another long stretch of silence. "If… if the curse isn't broken in by the end of next week… I want you to leave the castle and never return."_

_Kagome felt her jaw drop. She put her hand on her forehead and the other one on Inuyasha's head so that she could check his temperature. "No… no fever…"_

_"Keh, stupid," said Inuyasha brushing her hand from him. "I only have about a week left before the curse becomes impossible to break. See?" he pointed to the nearly completed jewel that was still floating beneath the glass. "Just little over a week left. I have only that much time before I become a monster."_

_"A monster?" repeated Kagome scared. "What do you mean a monster?"_

_"Its part of the curse that was placed on me, Kagome," answered Inuyasha sadly. "Once the jewel becomes whole… if I haven't found the way to break it by the time it's completed… I will become a blood-thirsty monster that will know only how to kill…"_

_…_

_"I know," said Inuyasha. He sighed, "The point is… if it's too late to save me… then I want you and everyone else to leave the castle and never come back."_

_"But…" began Kagome but Inuyasha cut her off. As he looked at her, he remembered the terrible dreams… how her beautiful face might become scathed and bloody because of him, how he might be the one to make sure that her strong and pure heart would cease to stop beating. "I don't want to end up killing you… any of you guys. Once the jewel becomes whole I won't be myself anymore. I won't be to stop myself. I'm sorry… but I rather that you all leave the castle and living somewhere safely than being here where I might one day kill you." He sighed again before putting his clawed hand on Kagome's cheek. He grinned slightly when he saw her blush. _

_"If it's too late for me," he said softly. "If the curse isn't broken by the end of next week… then you will be free from our deal and will be able to go back to your family."_

_Kagome stared at him in amazement, "You're making it sound like it's already too late."_

_Inuyasha lowered his hand and took a few steps back from her. "I'm just making preparations for the rest of you. Anything can happen in the time that we have remaining. But I just want to make sure that you and the others are safe from me in case it's too late. I want you all to leave before I…"_

_*End of Flashback*_

She didn't believe it. Inuyasha was hardheaded, rude, arrogant, and can be the world's biggest jerk… but she didn't believe that he would actually become a monster.

There was no way that she could leave the castle with her knowing that Inuyasha was here suffering alone. She wanted to go home and see her family again… more than anything… but if she left him here with knowing that the curse was going to make him die an early and horrible death…

No. She wouldn't allow it if she could help it. She would do everything in her power to save her friend…

That thought brought up another important issue…

Was Inuyasha just a friend… or did she consider him something more than that? She went red when she thought about their conversation last night before Shippo interrupted them.

_*Flashback*_

_She stepped forward so that she could put her own hand on Inuyasha cheek, she smiled when she saw him blush. _

_"Thank you Inuyasha." said Kagome quietly. _

_Inuyasha shook his head as he stared at her incredulity. "For what?" he asked her confused. _

_"For all the little things…" answered Kagome as she took another step towards him. "Listening to me when I needed someone to talk to… feeding the birds together… showing me that clearing in the forest… for treating me like a person and not just some… prize to be won." She took another step forward until they only stood inches away… their hearts were pounding so fast that they both suddenly seemed to be having trouble breathing._

_Inuyasha sighed. "You're welcome," was all he said. I mean what else could he say to her?_

_"You remember that day?" asked Kagome. "The morning after the night you protected me? The morning after I found out about your… condition?" Inuyasha hung his head in disgrace. His nightmare still fresh in his head. _

_"And I was tending to your wounds?" Kagome went on. When Inuyasha nodded, Kagome finished by saying, "That morning I realized that I was truly afraid."_

_Inuyasha turned his head away from her so that he could stare at the floor in shame. "You were afraid of me for almost killing you?" he asked knowing the answer._

_"No," said Kagome simply. Inuyasha's head snapped up to stare at her. "But then…"_

_"You did frighten me when you were in your full demon state," Kagome made clear. "But it was the person behind that form that I was afraid for… I was afraid that **you** were going to die." Neither said anything for another minute. "I don't want you to die, Inuyasha," said Kagome. "I want you to be happy, and I want you to laugh a lot."_

_She lowered her head to look down at her feet, "I don't know what exactly I'll be able to do for you… but I want to help in any way that can."_

_He gently put his clawed hand underneath her chin to raise her face to look up at him. "This is enough," he said softly as they both became lost in each other's faces. "Just being her is enough for me…"_

_For a minute, never of them seemed able to move; Inuyasha then slowly began to lower his head towards her… Kagome could feel his hot breath as his face came closer to her own… she closed her eyes as he was only a few centimeters away and…_

_*End of Flashback*_

_'I'm positive that I said something like that to him," _thought Kagome as heat flooded her body. _'Did he really almost…'_ she thought in embarrassment as she put her fingers to her lips. _'Did he really almost kiss me? And did I almost… kiss him?'_

Her heart started to beat hard inside her chest. Why is this happening? Just what is going on here? Why should she be feeling this way about the man who held her brother as his hostage and had her stay here?

Why? Why should she be feeling this way? Is it… could it be possible that she's falling in lov…

Bam

She walked into another door… this was not her day.

(In Miroku's room)

"Didn't I tell you to leave them alone when they are alone together?" said an exasperated Miroku.

"I didn't know that Kagome was with Inuyasha. I thought that I would ask Inuyasha if he'd seen her around because he hardly ever lets her out of his sight anymore. I didn't know that she was in there too," said Shippo defensively.

"Did you see what they were doing?" Miroku pressed onwards.

"No," said Shippo. "I told you that they were both standing away from each other and were blushing."

"Shippo," said Sango shaking her head.

"What did I do?" said Shippo looking from Miroku to Sango and back again.

"Shippo…" began Sango. "Just be careful from now on. We only have a few days… so please… don't go ruining our only chance to break the curse."

"B-but…" stuttered Shippo trying to understand what was going on. "I don't understand what I did."

"Think of it this way," said Miroku. "Even if Kagome and Inuyasha do fall in love… they would never admit to it if other people are around."

Shippo tilted his head in puzzlement. "Why not? How hard is it to say 3 little words?" he looked to Sango expecting an answer. "All they have to say is 'I love you' right? Why can't they say it out loud if anyone else is around?"

The other two just shook their heads. "You have a lot to learn in the game of love," said Miroku.

_*In Inuyasha's room*_

Inuyasha was leaning on his balcony as he usually was. He couldn't get last night out of his head. Damn it! Why did he have to say all that sentimental stuff? To Kagome of all people? Well, better her than anyone else.

Kagome was constantly on his mind… if he thought it was bad before… it had gotten worse. He couldn't seem to stand the thought of being separated from her for too long… he felt empty and strangely lonely. Nothing could've prepared him for the feelings that he was feeling when she put her hand on his face… he could still feel the warmth from her hand burn his face…

"AAAHHHHHH!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. _'Why does she make me feel this way?'_ he slammed his fist down onto the railing so hard that it broke like it was a twig. He was going to lose his mind if he didn't figure out what is going on.

Until the day that he meant Kagome… there was a dark void where his heart had been. Now… there was…

No… he was terrified to try to understand what these feelings were… he had to get out of this room.

Maybe he should go down to the gardens? No one would be there this time of day, right?

_*In the garden*_

When you head out into the gardens, you walk through honeysuckle-covered arches to a gorgeous brick-enclosed garden and that is a whimsical display with a path in the form of butterfly wings. The pathway gently descends through sycamores, poplars, and plum trees and into a world of color, fragrance, and beauty. This magnificent garden consists of a carefully manicured lawn on a sloping hill lined with flowering cherry and plum trees and featuring massive arrays of colorful flowers. Everything peaceful and beautiful comes together in this bubbling garden – trees, a wide bridge, a winding creek, colorful flowerbeds, river rocks, and flowing grasses – all set amid a wide expanse of lush green grass. The bridge was a graceful gateway in this picture-perfect garden, lush with water lilies, iris, peonies and lotuses. This perfect rose garden consists of more than a thousand rose bushes with every kind of roses imaginable, many of which climb the rose arbor's framework. Ornamental grass and a variety of flowers line the shore of this unique area.

Kagome was sitting on her knees and admiring the shining red rose petals that were glistening from the bright sun.

She could stay in this garden forever. She stroked a few of the shimmering petals and smiled gently; what was it about flowers that they seem to make you happy? Maybe it was because they aren't so different from humans? Flowers need sunlight, water, air, and a little tender loving care to grow and become beautiful. Is that why humans can't help but smile when they see a simple little flower growing?

_*Elsewhere in the garden*_

Inuyasha was wandering around the gardens, hoping that no one was watching him. The last thing that he wanted was to run into Miroku or Shippo; he knew that Miroku would question him about Kagome, and if he saw Shippo he would probably end up killing him for interrupting him last night.

Wait… why was he so upset for Shippo interrupting him? He wasn't doing anything but…

He raised his fist and punched him in the face. Damn it! Why couldn't he help but spill his guts to Kagome whenever she asked him a question? When she asked him how to break the curse… he had to bite down on his tongue so hard to keep the secret that he drew blood. He wanted to tell her… he wanted her to help him… he wanted her…

… yes… he wanted her to love him.

But he was just fooling himself. There was no way that she could love him. Especially when he was incapable of loving another.

All his life… he had trained himself to attack; to never allow his heart to care. There was no hope left. So then why did hope keep creeping back into his heart?

The warmth from her hand was still lingering in his mind…

He was losing his insanity. It was as simple as that. He stopped in mid-step and took a deep breath.

A heavenly scent, one that would put the sweetest smelling rose to shame, filled his nose… she was here…

His eyes snapped opened.

He looked around him, heart beating hard; he looked to his left… yes! There she was.

She was dressed in a long sleeved, form fitting kimono, which suited Kagome perfectly. It was a dark green with embroidered vines running down the sides that bloomed into red embroidered roses. Appropriate, for she was kneeling down by one of the many rose beds and stroking the petals with a gentle touch.

To him… she was a hundred times more beautiful than any flower.

He watched her care for the flowers for a little while until she finally looked up. She looked around her and spotted him. She smiled and waved him over, "Inuyasha!"

For a moment, Inuyasha was wondering if he should just run off, pretend that he never saw her. But his body had already made up his mind for him; he walked slowly to stand next to her.

"So…" she said as she went back to work, pruning some of the flowers. "What are you doing here? I know that you don't usually come out to the gardens."

Inuyasha shrugged, trying to look bored. "Just wanted some time to think and I didn't think that anyone would be out here."

"Oh," said Kagome worriedly. "Do you want to be alone?" she asked. "I mean… if you rather I left… I can work later."

"No…" said Inuyasha quickly. "You don't have to leave. I don't mind it."

Kagome gave him a kind smile.

"You sure seemed focused on gardening," he said trying to make some conversation after another long stretch of silence.

"Yeah," said Kagome simply.

"I don't understand," he said shaking his head. "Why are you working so hard for a bunch of roses?"

"Because Inuyasha," said Kagome in a scornful voice. "Flowers don't do anything but give us some beauty and fresh air to breath. All they ask for in return is a little care and love." She stroked the petals again. "More than anything, I think Mother Nature loves it when you admire her creations."

Inuyasha was confused. "You're saying that Mother Nature is vain?" he asked her.

Kagome looked up at him with an innocent look in her sparkling eyes, "No, Inuyasha," she answered. "I don't think that at all. Mother Nature isn't vain… just wants to share a beautiful thing to everyone else." She turned back to her flowers before continuing, "I think that it makes Nature upset if you walk by a rose in a field, and you don't even notice it."

They were both quiet for a moment before Kagome said more to herself than to Inuyasha, "I think that's why the rose has become such an important symbol. So when you walk by it… you'll notice it."

Inuyasha looked at the rose that Kagome was staring at before asking. "You mean… that it just wants… that a flower just wants to be… loved? Just like a person?"

Kagome looked up at him again, this time with a smile that made the world light up for him. "Yes, Inuyasha. Everything… everyone… all things on this earth… from humans, demons, animals, trees, flowers, heck… even stones… everything just wants to be loved."

"But… What if something isn't capable of love?" went on Inuyasha without thinking, "Can they be loved in return? Can they actually learn to care?"

Kagome gave him a surprised and confused look. "Why do you think that?"

_'Way to go, dog-brain,'_ thought Inuyasha. "I-I- I was just wondering," he said quickly turning his back on her. "I mean…" he took a few steps away, "What makes you so sure that everything wants to be loved? And can something who can't love… be loved by another?"

"Of course," said Kagome as if it were a simple question.

Inuyasha's eyes widened, his heart stopped, his breathing was caught in his throat… did she mean that? He was grateful for the fact that his back was to her so she couldn't see his expression.

"What makes you so sure?" he asked and was glad that his voice was so calm.

"Because," said Kagome. "There is not a single living creature in this world that is born without a heart; and it's in a heart's nature to care. And if that heart cares for another more than it cares for itself, than its love. You can't have a heart without having the ability to care."

Inuyasha turned to look at her. Her back was still facing him as she went back to work, "That's why the rose is a good symbol for love… it needs love to grow… without that… then it would just wither and die. I really don't know how else to put it."

Inuyasha walked back towards her, his eyes focused on the rose that she was tending to. His eyes were locked onto the beautiful, soft petals and the sharp thorns that protected that beauty.

_'You are like a rose Kagome…'_ he thought. _'Beautiful, but dangerous as well. I can't walk past you without noticing you. You are beautiful as rose petals, but you have thorns that can protect yourself.'_

"Love is just love Inuyasha; it can never be explained," Kagome went on suddenly. "My mother once said to me you can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel."

"What did she mean by that?" asked Inuyasha as he looked over her shoulder at her running her finger around the rose petals.

Kagome shrugged. "I guess she meant… no one is perfect until you fall in love with them. You can try to ignore their face… but your heart cannot."

_'No one is perfect until you fall in love with them?'_ thought Inuyasha stunned. He had turned cold.

But Kagome was perfect in his eyes… so did that mean that he was…

… did that mean… that what she said was true?

Was **_HE_** in love with Kagome?

**Enjoying the story? I hope so! Inuyasha finally realizes that he is falling in love with Kagome, but he doesn't know if she loves him? Can they admit their feelings with only a week left? Will romance bloom by the two of them standing in rain? Will a promise help them to say their feelings? Or will the curse tear them apart? Next time…**

**Preview:**

**"In that case, I'll protect you with my life," said Inuyasha as the rain continued to pour down around them. **

**"Inuyasha…" She cut her voice off when the look in his eyes shifted. They no longer looked stern or cold. Only kind, sincere and… loving?**

**Kagome wrapped the cloth around her shoulders, but she could no longer feel the cold from the rain hitting her body; only the warmth from her pounding heart. Kagome couldn't move, her cheeks turning rose red as he lean in closer. Deciding that it was safe to do so, she responded by raising her own face up towards his. His grip around her hand tightened as he came closer to her. As he opened his mouth slightly, Kagome's heart started beating even faster. This couldn't be for real, she thought. It was much too good to be true.**

**_'Inuyasha?'_ thought Kagome as her eyes closed. _'Is it possible that, without my ever realizing it… that you've taken more than just my freedom? Did you also take my heart? Is it possible that I'm falling in love with you?'_**

**Possible chapter names:**

**'I won't say I'm in love'**

**'Promise' **

**'Unyielding Rain'**

**'I'm head over heels'**

**'Am I crazy or is this love?'**


	19. Unyielding Rain

**The winner was...**

**Chapter 18- Unyielding Rain**

"Love is just love Inuyasha; it can never be explained," Kagome went on suddenly. "My mother once said to me you can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel."

"What did she mean by that?" asked Inuyasha as he looked over her shoulder at her running her finger around the rose petals.

Kagome shrugged. "I guess she meant… no one is perfect until you fall in love with them. You can try to ignore their face… but your heart cannot."

_'No one is perfect until you fall in love with them?'_ thought Inuyasha stunned. He had turned cold.

But Kagome was perfect in his eyes… so did that mean that he was…

… did that mean… that what she said was true?

Was **_HE_** in love with Kagome?

He took a few steps backwards away from Kagome. Scared and confused he didn't know what else to do.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha sudden silence. "Is something wrong?" she stared into his face in concern. He had gone deathly pale and was staring at her as if she had turned into a ghost or something. "Inuyasha? What is it?" she stood up and took a few steps towards him.

Inuyasha seemed to come back to his senses and turned his back on her. "I'm fine he said in his usually grumpy voice. "I… I just… just need to be alone for awhile." And without another word he took off leaving a stunned alone in the garden.

_'Just when I thought he couldn't get any weirder,'_ she thought to herself as she shook her head. She put it out of her mind as she went back to work on the flowers.

_*In the kitchens*_

"So now you understand?" said an annoyed Sango to Miroku. "Women now have choices. They can be married, not married, have a job, not have a job, be married with children, or unmarried with children. Men on the other hand, have the same choice they've always had: work or prison."

"Yes," said Miroku dramatically. "And if you were to be my warden then I will go without any regrets my dearest."

SLAP

"Get your hands off me, PERVERT!"

"Oh Sango, your words are cruel and they cut me deeply," Miroku said mournfully rubbing the bright-red hand print on his face.

"Save the innocent routine for someone that doesn't know you," Sango muttered.

"How did you two end up talking about this?" asked Shippo.

"Simple," replied Sango. "Miroku was asking me if I wished that I could live life like an animal? Living without rules? Taking what I want? Unfortunately, for us we can't do that because of a little thing called jail."

"I was just curious," said Miroku. "I was trying to whoo her with my natural charm… but it didn't work."

"If at first you don't success," said Sango rolling her eyes, "Why? Why again?"

"Cause I have to keep trying," was Miroku's simple reply. "I will win your heart one day my love, the same way you've won mind."

"You know?" asked Sango exasperated, "I don't know either to applaud you for not giving up in a hopeless situation, or laugh at your stupidity."

"Applaud or laugh, I don't care my dear," said Miroku taking her hands in his own. "As long as you marry me and bear my children…"

Sango blushed a deep red but walked away from him saying under her breath, "I'll marry you the day that you win my heart."

Miroku's eyes brightened. "HOPE!" he cried out.

Sango laughed, "I'll give you a million dream points for being so optimistic for a hopeless dream."

"Dream points?" asked Miroku in confusion.

"Yeah," answered Sango with a sly smile, "If you think that they're worth anything then you're dreaming." Shippo laughed, and Sango left the room after that.

"Oh, Sango… my love," said Miroku to himself as he sat on the floor, rubbing his face.

"Miroku?" asked Shippo in confusion. "Why do you keep asking Sango to bear your children and marry you when she keeps saying no?"

"Young Shippo," said Miroku with a dreamy look in his eyes. "She might say no the first time… she might say no the second time… she might even say no for the 999th time… but the 1000th time she'll be sure to say yes…"

"But how do you know?" said Shippo. "I mean I know she likes you as a friend but I don't know if she really wants to marry you."

"So she doesn't like like me then; she just likes me… that means that we are half-way there…"

"But…"

"I can't explain how I know Shippo," said Miroku. "But it's destiny. All these years of being together have told me that Sango and I are meant to spend the rest of our lives with each other. OK, maybe they haven't told me… but I can feel it! And you heard what she said? All I have to do is win her heart and she'll marry me! There's hope! I will be with her, even if I have to try for another 7 years!"

Shippo shook his head. "Grown-ups are so weird. Listen Miroku I think that… oh! Inuyasha it's you!"

Inuyasha had just walked into the kitchen. "Inuyasha?" asked Shippo in concern. "What's wrong? You look terrible, even for you."

"Shut up," said Inuyasha in a quiet voice that shocked the other two.

"Inuyasha?" whispered Shippo timidly as he covered his head with his arms. "You ok?" he had been expecting Inuyasha to at least yell at him. But no… he didn't hit him, threaten him, yell at him, or even raise his voice.

Instead he was walking through the kitchen as if he had seen a ghost or something.

Correction… he looked like he was a ghost.

His red eyes were wide and staring, he was so pale that matched his snowy white hair, and he had one of his clawed hands clutching the cloth on his chest, as if something was hurting him. Normally, this wouldn't be a big surprise to Shippo; because he had seen Inuyasha in pain before, only this time was different.

That was the kind of pain that Inuyasha was usually in would break anyone's spirit… but this time… Inuyasha looked… happy?

He was happy that he was in pain?

Shippo opened his mouth to ask Inuyasha when Miroku stood up quickly as if he had only just realized that Inuyasha was in the room. Miroku's eyes were lit up like a little kid who had just gotten a huge treat.

"Shippo?" said Miroku in a serious tone. "Why don't you go play right now?"

Shippo bent his head in surprise, "Not that I'm complaining but… why?"

"Because I said so," Miroku snapped, sounding more like Inuyasha than himself. Shippo blinked in shock. "What did I say?"

"Nothing," said Miroku quickly. "Just go for now. I need to talk to Inuyasha alone for a minute."

"Ok, ok," said a bewildered Shippo. As he got up and left the room you could hear him whisper under his breath, _'If this is how you get when you get older, then I never want to grow up.'_

Miroku waited until he was sure that Shippo left and was out of ear-shot before turning his attention to Inuyasha. "It happened didn't it?" he said firmly. "You finally understand what it is you're feeling right? I told you that there was hope for you."

Inuyasha was barely paying him any attention. "What happened?" was all he could say.

"Don't play dumb with me, Inuyasha," snapped back Miroku. "I know that look anywhere. I have it every time I see my beloved Sango."

"I'm not your beloved anything," said a feminine voice from behind him.

Miroku turned to see Sango walking back into the kitchen holding a large vase of flowers. "What's going on here?" she asked as she looked from Miroku to Inuyasha and back again.

Miroku went skipping over to her and took one of her hands in his own. "My dear Sango! It has happened! I told you that he could do it!"

Sango pulled her hand away from Miroku, "What has happened? And I'm not your dear anything."

"But Sango!" said Miroku dramatically. "Hope has come! The unthinkable has happened! Inuyasha has fallen in love!"

CRASH!

Sango dropped the vase; water, flowers, and shards of glass went flying in every direction. "Are you serious?" she said her voice so full of shock that it didn't sound like her own. She turned her head over to Inuyasha, who didn't seem to notice a thing that was going on around him. He seemed to be completely stunned, he had his hand over his heart, there was a blush on his cheeks, and a strange twinkle in his eyes.

Sango gasped. And with a scream of pure joy she wrapped her arms around Miroku's neck. "I can't believe it Miroku!" she cried with tears of happiness running down her cheeks. "Inuyasha's in love! We'll be free again!"

Miroku, who looked overjoyed with having Sango hugging him, said "I told you! I told you that Kagome would be the one to break the curse and free us!"

"Shut up!" barked Inuyasha sounding like himself again. The other two stared at him with bright eyes. "I don't know if I love her!" he snapped at them.

Miroku rolled his eyes as Sango pointed a finger at him, "Don't try to deny it Inuyasha!" she said with a big smile, "I can see it clear as day! The look of _'I'm in love with Kagome'_ is written all over your face!"

Inuyasha shoved her hand away from him and yelled, "Back off! I don't know how I feel alright?" and without another word he turned and left the kitchen, leaving the two of them celebrating.

"But my dear Sango," said Miroku as he pulled out a bottle of the finest wine that he had been saving for a special occasion, "We still need Kagome to realize that she's in love and they have to admit it to each other before time is up for the curse to be broken."

"Oh, I know," said Sango as she settled with water (for she didn't trust anything that Miroku would put in her glass) "But I know that Kagome has strong feelings for Inuyasha… I don't know if she realizes that she loves him yet… but all we have to do is get them alone and…" she thought about that for a moment before a spark came into her eyes. "And I have an idea on how to get them together!"

Miroku shared a grin with her before holding up his glass and said, "I love it when you put your mind to mischief. To Love!" and they clanked their glasses together in a toast.

_*Later that night*_

Rain…

Some people just can't seem to stand rain…

But what most people don't realize is that rain has unusual powers…

Luckily for Kagome, she had always loved the downpour of water. When she looked out of her window she could see the rain beginning to pour, and without wasting another minute, she dropped her book and ran downstairs and out the door.

The wind whipped her hair, molding it to her slender cheekbones, like a second skin.  
She tilted her face, catching the rain drops as they began to fall upon the earth. Closing her eyes and inhaling - slowly, letting her skin savor the moisture in separate, single rise. It was as if every cell of her body had come alive, dancing with the same electrical intensity as the lightning that surged through the sky. The thunder, an angry grumble of nature rumbled over head. In those few moments, she felt joyously alive.

And she knew no fear. Locked in a spell of the elements... feeling the storm... bringing her peace... with herself... bringing her peace... with the world.

_*A little later*_

With a laugh she stopped spinning and just let the rain pour down around her. She felt so complete; she felt no sorrow and no pain. She may get another cold but she didn't care. There's a calming sensation from grass to air, the feeling of being alive that she can't remember having. Because her heart falls open underneath the rain.

"Have you lost your mind?" said a voice that she could recognize anywhere.

"Hello Inuyasha," said Kagome as she turned her head towards the castle.

Inuyasha was leaning up against the wall of the castle, underneath one of the ugly gargoyle statues to prevent himself from getting wet. Kagome blushed when she realized that he must have been watching her from the moment that she stepped outside. "What are you doing?" she called out to him over the pounding rain.

"Just what I was going to ask!" he yelled back. "I came out here to think and then you come running out and start dancing in the rain! What the hell are you doing?"

She grinned as she came bounding over to stand next to him. "What's wrong with that? You need to learn how to have some fun once in awhile."

Inuyasha turned his head away making a 'Keh' sound like he always does, and ignored what she said. Kagome rolled her eyes and gave a small chuckle. He's so predictable sometimes. She turned her face up to fell the rain on her face again and enjoyed in immensely. Suddenly she felt a warm cloth drape her shoulders.

"Aren't you a gentleman?" she said when she saw that he had given her his red kimono.

"Keh," was all he said. "You're going to get sick again. And I'm sure that you don't want to take that medicine, do you?"

Kagome had gone a little green when she thought about that disgusting potion. "Ok, I get the picture. Let's go in."

And with Inuyasha grumbling about how dumb she was for coming out here in the middle of a storm, she and Inuyasha headed back out into the rain and up the castle stairs to the closed front doors. As they walked Kagome asked him what he was doing out here.

"I told you," snapped Inuyasha. "I wanted some time to think and I like to listen to the rain fall." Inuyasha reached up to open the door when Kagome put up her own to stop him. "Wait," she said suddenly.

"What is it now?" Inuyasha said annoyed.

"I need to tell you something."

"Can't you tell me inside?" Inuyasha said exasperated. "Like after you change out of your wet clothes?"

"I have to say it now," Kagome said firmly.

Inuyasha turned to look at her straight in the eye and waited.

Kagome grasped the cloth around her shoulders a little tighter as she hesitated for a moment. "Inuyasha?" she said uncertainly. "I want…"

"Yes?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.

"I want… I want to stay with you, Inuyasha."

Whatever Inuyasha expected her to say… it wasn't that. His eyes widened in astonishment and when he spoke, you could hear the amazement in his voice.

"What did you say?"

"I want to stay here and help you, Inuyasha," repeated Kagome. "I can't stand the thought of me living somewhere safe and knowing that you'll be here, all alone and suffering. I want to do whatever I can to help you."

"But…" started Inuyasha.

"Don't even try to talk me out of it," Kagome broke in fiercely. "You've been so kind to me… and I just want to help you. I want to help break this curse you're under. I want to be here… with you." She turned her back on him as she said the next part, "Even if I leave… I'll regret it forever. Even if you tell me to try and forget about you Inuyasha… I know that I'll never be able to. So please… just let me stay with you."

"Kagome…" whispered Inuyasha.

Kagome had already thought of a bunch of clever comebacks to whatever Inuyasha had to say. She was ready for him to start yelling and insulting her. She was ready to tell him off if he tried to change her mind or explain why she should leave if it was too late. She was ready for him to tell her that it was too dangerous to stay near him…

What she wasn't ready for was Inuyasha taking hold of her hand and gently turning her around to look into her face. Another thing she wasn't ready for was what he said…

"In that case, I'll protect you with my life," said Inuyasha as the rain continued to pour down around them.

To say that Kagome was stunned would be an understatement. Did this mean that he wanted her to stay with him?

"Inuyasha…" She cut her voice off when the look in his eyes shifted. They no longer looked stern or cold. Only kind, sincere and… loving?

Kagome wrapped the cloth around her shoulders, but she could no longer feel the cold from the rain hitting her body; only the warmth from her pounding heart. Kagome couldn't move, her cheeks turning rose red as he lean in closer. Deciding that it was safe to do so, she responded by raising her own face up towards his. His grip around her hand tightened as he came closer to her. As he opened his mouth slightly, Kagome's heart started beating even faster. This couldn't be for real, she thought. It was much too good to be true.

_'Inuyasha?'_ thought Kagome as her eyes closed. _'Is it possible that, without my ever realizing it… that you've taken more than just my freedom? Did you also take my heart? Is it possible that I'm falling in love with you?'_

**BOOM!**

Kagome and Inuyasha both leapt away from each other as the thunder echoed across the sky.

_'Why?'_ Inuyasha thought bitterly when he realized that it was just the storm and not a demon or a threat. _'Why is something always interrupting us? A simple kiss on the lips! Is that so much to ask?'_ he stopped dead when that thought came to mind. He put his face in his hand and shook his head as if angry with himself. _'Man… if there's one thing I hate… it's when Miroku's right. I am… in love…'_

"Inuyasha?" said Kagome's voice, bringing him back to reality.

"It's nothing, Kagome," said Inuyasha quickly. "Let's just… let's just get inside ok? This storm is starting to get bad."

They didn't say another word as Inuyasha opened the door and stood back to let her in. Neither of them noticed that they were being watched from the darkness of the forest by a pair of hate-filled eyes. Eyes that were staring at Inuyasha with the utmost loathing…

**OMG! Inuyasha finally admits to himself that he's in love! Now all he has to do is say it to Kagome. Easier said than done though. And what about Kagome? Will she say 'I love you?' before time is up? They only have a few days left! Who was the person who was watching them? What kind of trouble is going to happen? And what about Miroku and Sango? What do they have planned for these two?**

**Preview:**

**Kagome slowly opened her eyes and saw that Inuyasha was walking toward her. His eyes were malicious and his lips were curved upward in a taunting smile. Abruptly, he seized her arms and roughly pinned her to the wall.**

**Kagome knew that she had to use her powers to protect herself but…her mind seemed to be working in slow motion. All at once, she felt like a beginner priestess that was struggling to learn how to use the power within.**

**Inuyasha's eyes glinted wickedly. "You should have gone home when I told you to, Ka-go-me. No Miroku to save you this time."**

**"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered. "Don't." She shut her eyes and braced herself, ignoring the pain that he was generating by gripping her injured arm.**

**New Chapter names!**

**What You Are To Me **

**That's All I Ask Of You **

**Let Me Love You **

**Heart of Gold **

**Remember Me Please**


	20. Remember Me Please

**Chapter 19- Remember Me Please**

_'So the boy had been telling the truth after all.'_ Koga was sitting at a bar and was drinking heavily. A few months ago… Sota had come running into the village and was telling everyone that would listen that Kagome had been captured by a demon and being held prisoner inside his castle. Of course, the whole village knew that Kagome was a powerful priestess and could take care of herself. But after the first couple of weeks and no signs of her… people were starting to get worried.

Koga had gone to Kagome's house plenty of times only to find her family in complete distraught. They were all crying and mourning the loss of their girl as if she was dead… which she might be.

He slammed his mug down so hard that it broke into several pieces; causing some of the other customers to look up startled. He paid the bartender for the drink, and the broken cup, and then left the bar without another word.

He wandered through the empty roads and thought of Kagome… was she really imprisoned inside a castle by an evil demon? If she was… then why didn't she use her powers to escape by now? Was there something wrong with her powers? Did the demon do something to her? Was she still even…

NO

Kagome was still alive! He could feel it! It would take a lot more that one evil demon to kill Kagome.

His choice was clear to him now! He would find that castle, kill the demon, and rescue Kagome! Maybe once he saved her… she would realize that she loves him and she would finally ask HIM to marry HER! No, there was no maybe; he was sure that it would happen! All he had to do was find the castle, and kill a demon, and rescue the beautiful damsel in distress… easy right?

_(He had a little too much to drink if you ask me)_

Koga then went running through the fields, and went the way that Sota described; as he cleared the hill… the rain started.

_*A few hours, and one bad hangover later*_

The kid really was telling the truth after all.

Koga had been running around in some creepy mist and in the rain for hours, thinking that this as all just one wild goose chase. He had been trying to see if he could pick up even the tiniest trace of Kagome; but the rain had washed away everything.

But after wandering around for a while, he had finally spotted it. In the distance, there was an enormous castle. So big, that it could easily fit the entire village comfortably… maybe, once he killed the demon, he would claim this castle as his own…

Yes… plenty of room for the children he was planning for… once Kagome begged to be his wife after he rescued her.

With his speed, he was able to reach the castle in no time flat. He hid himself in the forest, trying to think of where Kagome could be being kept. He was just thinking that she would be locked up in one of the many towers, or underground in the dungeons when something caught his eye.

It was a flash of silver; and two figures standing in the rain, in front of the front door.

His eyes burned red when he saw that Kagome was standing in the pouring rain, with a demon standing just a few feet away from her. He saw her say something to the demon before turning around, so as not to look at him. He smiled when he saw the confused and startled look on the demon's face. But the smile quickly faded when he saw the demon grab a hold of Kagome's hand and spun her around effortlessly and forced her to look at him.

He saw the demon say something to her, and Kagome's face suddenly turned a rose red and her eyes widen in surprise. Kagome wrapped the red cloth around her shoulders, and the demon took that moment to start to bend his face down towards hers. As if that wasn't bad enough, not only didn't Kagome turn away, she raised her own face up towards his. He saw the demon's grip around Kagome's hand tighten as he came closer to her and he opened his mouth slightly.

This was too much for him. The demon must have had her under some kind of spell! There was no other explanation that he could think of! And there was no chance in hell that he was going to let his wife-to-be have her heart captured by a pathetic dog demon. He took a step forward, his eyes burning with a deep loathing towards the demon that had the nerve to put a spell on Kagome. He was about to come charging out when all of a sudden he felt his body froze.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to interfere," said a woman's voice from behind him.

A figure appeared out of nowhere and looked at him with cold eyes. Koga's own eyes widened in amazement.

He had seen strange things in his life, but he had to say, that this one took the cake and all the candles on top. There was a woman standing before him who looked nearly identical to Kagome! She could have easily have passed as her twin sister… only this woman looked as if she had ice in her veins instead of blood.

"I've waited 7 years," she said to him. "And I'm afraid that I can't allow you to come between them when Inuyasha has come so close to breaking the curse."

_'Inuyasha?'_ he thought. _'So that was the name of the demon that put the spell Kagome!'_

"No," she said.

_'No? No what?'_ he thought in surprise.

"What I mean is…" said the woman. "The only person under a spell is Inuyasha. And he is coming close to breaking it… however…" she raised her hand up and a second later.

**BOOM!**

Kagome and Inuyasha both leapt away from each other as the thunder echoed across the sky.

He saw them talk for a moment before the demon, Inuyasha, opened the door and let her go in ahead of him. "I hated to do that," said the woman. "But the time is not right… not just yet…"

_'What is this creepy wench talking about?'_ he thought as he stared with as much loathing as he could muster at the demon.

"Creepy am I?" said the woman. Koga's eyes widened in alarm, _'Can she actually…?'_

"Yes," she said confirming what he thought. "I can hear your thoughts. And I know of your relationship with that girl. I hate to be the one to tell you… but you and her aren't meant to be together."

_'What? Of course the two of them were meant to be together! I love her and Kagome loved me! She just didn't know it yet and…'_

"Wrong," said the woman. "You and her weren't meant to be with each other. Neither is that village idiot called Hojo. Do not worry though… I sense that you will find your true soul mate very soon. I hate to be the one to tell you, but if Kagome did love either of you… she was born for someone else."

She raised her finger and placed it on Koga's forehead. "You will not interfere with true love." And the next minute… Koga vanished into thin air. The woman lowered her hand. She was not evil. She merely transported the wolf back to his village thinking that he just had a very strange dream and he would blame it all on his long night of drinking. She could not allow him to come between Kagome and Inuyasha.

As she looked back at the castle, she smiled when she saw the warm and loving look on Inuyasha's face. She could tell right away that he had changed greatly since the last time she saw those cold eyes. Out of all the people on earth, she was the one to walk into Inuyasha's life. Kagome was the one who completed him and stole his heart.

She knew that he had fallen in love with Kagome… she also knew that his deepest desire… wasn't to be free of the curse… but to have just one kiss from the woman that he loves. But she couldn't allow for that to happen… not just yet.

That was why she called for that thunder. To pull them apart… for now.

But…

She smiled. If everything went according to plan… then Inuyasha will get that kiss before his time is up. She looked up at the castle one more time… and then the priestess Kikyo disappeared into the shadows of the trees. He loves Kagome… because she taught him how to care. He can feel… because she ignited feelings in his heart that he never knew were there before. He now breathes… because she had given him a reason to live.

Oh, how Kikyo loves, love. And oh, how she loves to love, love.

_*Morning*_

Kagome slowly opened her eyes to the bright sunshine that was coming in through her window. She grinned slightly as she got out of bed and let the light into the room. She opened the window and was able to get a great whiff of fresh air, mixed in with the smell of rain.

"What a beautiful morning," she said as she began to dress in a bright blue Kimono with little embroidered blue birds. She sang a small song as she headed downstairs.

_If there were many tears falling down, _

_Every heart would become gentle._

_If everybody expresses what they think,_

_Every heart can be satisfied._

_I was frightened by the neverending night,_

_So I prayed to the distant stars._

_In endlessly repeating time,_

_We were searching for love,_

_Because we wanted to become stronger._

_We look up to the faraway sky._

_The two of us, smiling, meet here,_

_Every heart has a habit of receiving its dreams._

_Sadness has no effect on us,_

_Every heart gains happiness when it flies._

_Someday our souls will unite,_

_We will give peaceful approval._

_In endlessly repeating time,_

_We know why we are living._

_We go through the nighttime laughing,_

_Both of us are mourning, yet we walk on._

_Memories of everything has settled,_

_This is a warm place to be._

_The stars separate us from the future,_

_We are always so brilliant,_

_So shine._

_In endlessly repeating time,_

_We were searching for love,_

_Because we wanted to become stronger._

_We look up to the faraway sky._

_In endlessly repeating time, _

_We know why we are living. _

_We go through the nighttime laughing,_

_Both of us are mourning, yet we walk on._

"Sounds like someone is in a good mood," said a slurred voice from a room that she had just passed.

Kagome looked around in surprise to see a very red-faced Miroku. "Oh, Miroku," said Kagome in a relieved tone. "You startled me… ah… are you ok? You look like you were drinking all night."

Miroku hiccupped, proving what Kagome had guessed.

"I've been up all night celebrating," said Miroku as he began to walk down the stairs besides Kagome.

"Celebrating?" said Kagome confused. "What were you celebrating?"

"Because Inuyasha has…" Miroku stopped himself just in time.

"Because Inuyasha has…?" repeated Kagome, urging him to continue.

"Ah…" said Miroku quickly trying to think of a good excuse for his mistake. "Please ignore me. I've got such a bad hangover that I can't even think straight… ah… what I meant to say is that I was celebrating that Inuyasha hadn't yelled at the staff for almost a week… a personal best!"

"Oh," said Kagome though she didn't look convinced. "Great! Are you going to do this every week?"

"Oh no," said Miroku. "I just wanted to…" the rest of his sentence was cut off when Sango had appeared out of nowhere with Rin by her side. "Hey guys, what's up?" Sango said as she cast Miroku a warning look.

"Oh morning Sango… Rin!" said Kagome happily.

"Morning!" said Rin cheerfully. Kagome gave her a quick smile as she leaned back and stretched. She rubbed her eyes and looked over at her friends, suddenly worried. Why did she feel restless all of a sudden? She couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was wrong…so what was it?

Kagome glanced at her friends again and saw that Miroku's body had stiffened. All at once, Kagome felt ripple of anxiousness possess her body.

Miroku turned and locked eyes with her. "You feel it too, don't you?" It was a statement, not a question.

Kagome nodded slowly. "It's Inuyasha's demonic aura…it's just… it bothers me."

"That's how I felt too. Something's wrong with him."

"What's going on you two?" Sango asked them in concern, not really understanding what they were talking about.

"Something's wrong with Inuyasha," Kagome said, echoing Miroku. "And I intend to go and find out what," she said, turning back up the stairs decisively.

"That's not a good idea," said Miroku calmly. "I think I know what's going on… Inuyasha's in pain right now. And in case you have forgotten, Inuyasha's not in control of himself at the moment."

"I don't care!" Kagome declared. "I'm tired of not being able to do anything knowing that he's up there suffering!" She lowered her voice and looked into Miroku's eyes. "Please Miroku? I really, really want to know if he's alright," she pleaded.

Miroku said nothing for a minute before he let loose a sigh. "Kagome, this isn't easy for us either. But Inuyasha's dangerous right now. When he transforms, he loses his sense of discrimination… there's no guarantee that you won't be his next kill."

"But…" began Kagome angrily.

"Look, I'll go and check up on him quickly," said Miroku. "In the meantime, you stay down here. You'll be much safer."

Miroku turned to Sango and took her hands into his. "Sango, dearest, would be so kind as to warn everyone else not to bother Inuyasha today while I investigate what is happening outside this room?"

For a minute, Sango looked like she was going to refuse. However, she surprisingly agreed, "I'll make sure that everyone knows," she said.

Kagome on the other hand, turn and walked away. She wanted to be alone right now; she headed towards the front doors.

_*In Inuyasha's room*_

_'Blood… blood… I need a live sacrifice!'_ screamed a voice in Inuyasha's head.

_'Shut up!'_ Inuyasha mentally screamed. _'I'm sick of hearing your voice! Besides, you will soon be quieted for good!'_

_'Oh, is that a fact?'_ his demon side. '_Do you honestly believe that the girl could ever love a monster like you? Can you really believe that the curse will be broken in less than a week? Time is almost up… and once it is… I'll be in control once and for all!'_

_'To hell you will!'_ Inuyasha yelled back. As he fell back to his knees… he smelt her… Kagome's sweet, pure scent was coming up through his opened window… she must have gone outside…

_*Miroku outside Inuyasha's room a few minutes later*_

Miroku knew that what he was about to do… could get him killed. But he needed to check on Inuyasha… he needed to know what kind of state that he was in. He took a deep breath, and with one final prayer, he opened to door just wide enough to peer into the room.

A second later, Miroku flung the door open and looked around in a panic.

The room was empty, and the window was still wide open with a gentle breeze coming in.

_*Outside with Kagome*_

This really sucks. How on earth was Kagome supposed to take this any longer? It was driving her crazy and sick with worry.

**Crack**

Kagome had heard something that sounded like a twig snapping from behind her. Kagome turned and saw that Inuyasha was walking toward her. His eyes were malicious and his lips were curved upward in a taunting smile. "Inu…Inuyasha? What are you doing Inuyasha?" she asked quietly. "Are you alright?"

Suddenly, before she could blink, before she knew what had happened, he seized her arms and roughly pinned her to the castle wall. Kagome let out a small cry of pain. She knew that she had to use her powers to protect herself but… her mind seemed to be working in slow motion. All at once, she felt like a beginner priestess that was struggling to learn how to use the power within.

Inuyasha's eyes glinted wickedly. "You should have left when I told you to, Kagome. No Miroku or Sango to save you this time."

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered. "Don't…" She shut her eyes and braced herself, ignoring the pain that he was generating by gripping her arm.

"I-Inuyasha! S-Stop!" She cried, she gave him just enough of a shock for him to jump back, though ripping her sleeves and giving her deep claw-like wounds in the process.

Once he was away from her, she held out her hand to him, "Come back, Inuyasha." She whispered, observing how his ears twitched in her general direction as she stepped closer to him. Even if he did tell her to stay away, she wouldn't because clearly he needed her to help him. And when his red-blue eyes had turned to her, he had stood up straighter and ceased his growling.

"Come back to me, Inuyasha." She said gently and took another step closer to him.

"K'gome," He muttered, coming to stand in front of her. He gently brushed one of his clawed fingers against her cheek before leaning his forehead against hers. He inhaled deeply, using her scent to calm his demon blood.

_*Several agonizing minutes later*_

Kagome didn't know how long that she stood there with him. Only that eventually, Inuyasha's growling had subsided, and he was leaning away from her looking around with a stunned expression.

"Kagome?" asked a bewildered voice. "What… what happened?"

Kagome nearly collapsed in relief. He was back to his old self. The Inuyasha that she knew so well was back. Before she could stop herself, she ran forward and leapt into his arms. "THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE BACK!"

Just as Kagome had jumped into his arms, Inuyasha looked even more stunned than he did before. "Kagome? What are you…" he stopped talking when he got a good look at her arms.

He forced her back gently and took one of her arms in his clawed hands, staring at the deep claw-marks that were near her shoulders. "I did that." Inuyasha said flatly. It wasn't a question.

"I-Inuyasha, you weren't yourself."

His eyes hardened. "You don't get it. I'm… I'm a monster." Without another word, he vanished through the castle doors.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said miserably, as felt her legs go weak, and she fell forward, trying to control her shaking and crying.

_*That night*_

_'Kagome,' _thought Inuyasha disgusted with himself._ 'How could I have hurt her? It's all over now…'_

**Knock, knock**

"Go away," said Inuyasha in a defeated, sorrowful tone. He had expected Shippo or Miroku to be out there and to just leave. But instead…

"Inuyasha?" said that angel's voice that his ears would know anywhere.

"Kagome?" he said in surprise. He practically flew to the door and flung it open. Kagome was standing there, wearing a dark red kimono with green leaves and pink berry embroidery. Kagome looked around his room, as if making sure that they were alone. "Can I come in?" she asked timidly.

"I-yes, yes of course," said Inuyasha standing back to let her pass. "I just thought that you wouldn't want to see me after…" he put his head down in shame. He was never going to forgive himself for this one. He really messed up big time; not just for himself, but for everyone else here.

Kagome didn't say anything as she walked over to the shelf where the picture of him and his mother were. Once again, she picked it up and stared intensely at it.

"Kagome?" said Inuyasha hesitantly when she didn't say anything. "Please, understand… I can't even begin to explain what you are to me." Inuyasha said all this without looking at her. "Please believe me, you're the last person that I ever wanted to hurt. I…"

"I forgive you," said Kagome.

"Look I know that you—wait WHAT?" he cried out. "You mean… after I tried to… just like that?"

"It's alright," said Kagome quietly. "I know that it wasn't you. Inuyasha…"

Silence.

"I don't care what you say," she said. "It's this curse that's doing this to you. You never would have attacked me if you had a choice. I know that. And I know that you have a heart of gold underneath that appearance. Just… remember me please. That's all I ask of you. I don't want you to forget about me… just let me…"

"Just what?" he asked.

_'Just let me love you,' _she thought to herself, not daring to tell him that.

"Kagome…" said Inuyasha sadly. "I'm turning into a monster… I can't control it… it just happens… I wish it didn't."

"I know…" agreed Kagome. "But that doesn't mean that you don't have a big heart. I know the real you. And I don't want to lose that side of you. Not now, not ever."

"Kagome…"

Kagome stepped forward and put her arms around his middle in a tight embrace. "Remember me please… don't forget about me or the others… please don't forget about us, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's face softened. He put his arms around her and held her tightly. "I'll try," he promised. "Is there anything I can do to make up for this… morning?"

Kagome shook her head, "Just stay here. Just hold me for a little while longer… please."

So Inuyasha held her in his arms for a long, long time. He didn't move, didn't speak—didn't want to spoil this moment. Just like that night in the forest, he held her against his chest… against his heart, with his arms wrapped around her protectively.

After about an hour however, Kagome seemed to be falling asleep; so he gently picked her up and carried her back to her room. (After making sure that no one was watching this time) He quietly entered her room and laid her gently on top of her blanket.

He smiled as he stood back to stare at her face. He couldn't help himself and just stared long and hard at her angel face. He smiled even wider as he put his hand on her cheek and held it there.

After looking around the room, as if making sure that they were alone—he leaned down, and gave her another kiss… this time on her cheek.

What he said next shocked him, and made him glad that she was asleep, "Goodnight, my… my dearest."

**Getting good right? 5 days left! We find out what Sango and Miroku have planned for the two of them! More Koga and Hojo in the next chapter. Who is Koga's soul mate? What's going to happen? Find out in the next chapter! And thank you for keeping up with this story up till now! It means a lot!**

**Preview: **

**Grabbing Inuyasha's hand, Sango ignored he's whines and dragged Inuyasha out of the kitchen and to the bottom of the staircase. Once there she positioned him so he would be able to offer Kagome his arm and lead her to the dining room. "Okay I want you to stand right here. I better make sure Miroku and Shippo know what to do."**

**Sango left Inuyasha at the staircase and returned to the kitchen. "Miroku and Shippo bring the food to the dining room then come back to the kitchen and stay there. We'll eat in here so that we can leave Inuyasha and Kagome alone." Without another word Sango left them and went back to Inuyasha.**

**"Stay right here I'll make sure Kagome comes out in a minute." Sango then flew up the stairs to help Kagome with her gown.**

**Next Chapter Names:**

**Dancing Stars**

**Dance with Me Tonight **

**You're an Angel in Disguise **

**Sealed with a Kiss**

**True faith… finds true love.**


	21. Sealed with a Kiss

**Chapter 20- Sealed with a Kiss**

Kagome had awoken feeling sore and tired the next morning. She forced her aching muscles to set up, ignoring the sting from the wounds on her arms that Inuyasha had given her yesterday. She got out of bed and went to get ready like she did everyday. She knew that she should be feeling some kinds of negative feelings towards Inuyasha… like anger, fear, or hate? But she didn't feel any of that. Instead she was starting to creep herself out by her lack of negative feelings; she was acting as if nothing had happened.

As she pulled on a black robe with silver butterflies and flowers, there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" called Kagome as she began to fix her hair.

"It's me!" called out Ayame's voice.

"The door's open," Kagome called back.

Ayame came in looking excited about something. "What's up?" asked Kagome, noticing her joyous expression.

"Oh, nothing," said Ayame.

"I know that tone," said Kagome seriously. "It means that, 'nothing' is something special. So what is it?"

"Oh," said Ayame cheerfully. "You'll see!" She then went looking through Kagome's closet and humming happily. Kagome didn't like the way that she was doing that… like she was keeping a big secret from her.

Kagome had finished her hair and was now looking at Ayame, a little worriedly. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Ayame, looked like she was dying to tell Kagome something.

"Listen," she said finally. "I decided to take Kohaku, Rin, and Shippo out camping for the night!"

"Oh," said Kagome, not expecting that answer, but relaxing. "Why are you taking them out camping?"

"Oh, I just thought that they would enjoy camping in the woods tonight," she said innocently. "I was going to ask you to come but I think that you should stay behind. I think that Inuyasha still feels really bad for what happened yesterday, and I think that you being here for him is the best that we can do."

Kagome shrugged, "I guess," she said uncertainly.

Ayame gave her a quick hug and squealed, "Things are going to be fine!"

But when Ayame left the room she thought to herself with a sly grin, _'Everything's going as Miroku and Sango planned.'_

_*The dining room*_

"Is everything ready?" asked Sango.

"Yes," said Miroku with a smile. "Now all we need is the two victims."

"But," began Shippo, "Kagome and Inuyasha don't know about this… are you sure that everything is going to turn out alright?"

"Of course," said Miroku. "Look, when Inuyasha and Kagome both come down for breakfast, we're going to tell them that all of us are going to leave the castle tonight. I'm going to tell them that I'm going to take Sango out for the night…"

"And I will pretend that I know nothing about it," said Sango. "Making them think that Miroku will be up to his lecherous ways again."

"And you and Rin have to pretend that Ayame and Kohaku are taking you out into the forest tonight for a small camping trip," said Miroku. "We just keep making up excuses to get out of the castle, and leave Kagome and Inuyasha alone for the night."

"But why do we have to leave them alone?" asked Shippo.

"I thought that we went over this," said Sango. "We know that Inuyasha has fallen in love with Kagome. And I know that Kagome has some strong feelings for Inuyasha. But think about their personalities. Even if they did want to tell each other how they felt, they won't do it if there are other people around. This way, we're going to give them the night alone with each other."

"All we're doing is fanning the flames," cut in Miroku.

"But…" began Shippo still looking confused.

"Shut it!" said Miroku. "I hear Inuyasha."

Sure enough, a minute later, Inuyasha had come through the doors looking tired. He looked up, just in time to notice the fake smiles they all had plastered on their faces. "What's up with you guys?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Miroku a little too cheerfully.

Inuyasha gave him a strange look. "I don't know what's going on, but those smiles are creeping me out." He then went to the table and began to wolf down his breakfast. Once he noticed that they weren't eating, Inuyasha looked up at them, "Why aren't you eating?" he said suspiciously.

"Oh," said Sango. "We… we just ate. Sorry for not waiting, but we were just starving."

"Yeah," agreed Shippo with a fake smile.

"Ok," said Inuyasha standing up. "What the hell is going on?"

The other 3 look at each other with quick glances before Sango said quickly, "Hey, you know? I was going to give Kagome something before we left!" and before anyone else could say anything else, she swiftly left the room.

Inuyasha look after her, "What's with her?" he asked them.

Miroku laughed nervously, "I think that she's just worried about tonight."

"Tonight?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yes," said Miroku. "You see I told her that I have a very special surprise for her and I'm taking her somewhere tonight."

"Miroku," said Inuyasha sitting back down to enjoy the remainder of his breakfast. "You're going to get yourself killed by Sango one day."

Miroku put on another big grin; pleased that Inuyasha had bought his story. "Sorry, that you and Kagome will be left alone tonight," he said calmly.

**CRACK**

Inuyasha had gripped his goblet of juice so hard that it broke and its contents spilled everywhere. "What did you say?"

"I simply said that you and Kagome will be spending the night without anyone else around," said Miroku, trying not to smile at the look on Inuyasha's face. "Me and Sango will be gone, and Ayame decided to take Kohaku, Shippo, and Rin out camping for the night. So I think that will leave you and Kagome alone tonight."

"That's not a problem is it?" asked Shippo with beady eyes.

"No," said Inuyasha softly.

Miroku quirked an eyebrow before looking at Shippo and asked him, "Why don't you go see if you can help Sango?"

Shippo looked up surprised, "Why?"

"Because I asked you to," said Miroku. "Please?"

Grumbling, Shippo jumped down from the table and left the room. Once Miroku was sure that the two of them alone, he asked Inuyasha, "So… have you told her yet?"

"Tell who what?" asked Inuyasha playing dumb.

"You know who and what," said Miroku with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know who you're talking about," said Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha?" said Miroku irritated. "In case you haven't realized it, but you have only 5 days left! You have to tell Kagome how you feel! Don't you want to be free from this curse?"

"You know I do," snapped back Inuyasha.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"I can't… I just can't…" said Inuyasha in a defeated tone. "I mean… what if I tell her… and it turns out that she doesn't feel the same?"

"Inuyasha," said Miroku shaking his head. "I know that Kagome has some strong feelings for you. But she won't know that you love her unless you tell her."

Inuyasha sighed. "I know."

Miroku grinned; glad that Inuyasha was man enough to finally admit what was in his heart.

"We're giving you the perfect opportunity to tell her tonight. But it's up to you to actually suck up your pride and tell her the words that'll set us free."

"Who said that it was pride that was keeping me from telling her how I feel?" hissed Inuyasha. "But what if I do tell her… and she…"

"She what?" asked Miroku now looking confused.

"What if I tell her… and I scare her off? I can't risk it…"

"But Inuyasha…" said Miroku exasperatedly, "What are you going to do? Wait until it's too late? Wait until SHE tells you first? She might be having these same thoughts and doubts. Maybe she won't tell you until you come out and say if first. Inuyasha, if you're including today, then we only have 5 days left until…"

"Alright I get it!" snapped Inuyasha loudly. He took a few calming breaths to prevent himself from strangling Miroku. He knew that Miroku was right, but he wasn't going to admit it. "But…"

"No buts," interrupted Miroku sharply. "Everyone is going out for the night, and you and Kagome will be all alone. This is the perfect chance to talk to her. Let her know how you feel, let her know just how much she means to you. You can do that much can't you?"

Inuyasha sighed, before getting up and said harshly, "You make it sound like it's the easiest thing in the world."

Before either of them could say anything else, Sango came running into the room. "You guys have to come and look!" she said excitedly.

Grabbing Inuyasha's hand, Sango ignored him and dragged Inuyasha out of the kitchen and to the bottom of the staircase. Once there she positioned him that he could get a good look. "Okay I want you to stand right here. I better make sure Miroku and Shippo know what to do."

"Do what?" asked Inuyasha quickly.

Sango left Inuyasha at the staircase and returned to the kitchen. "Miroku and Shippo bring the food to the dining room then come back to the kitchen and stay there. We already ate so Inuyasha can swoon properly." Without another word Sango left them and went back to Inuyasha.

"Stay right here I'll make sure Kagome comes out in a minute." Sango then flew up the stairs to help Kagome with her gown.

"Swoon?" demanded Inuyasha. "What the hell do you guys think you're trying to pull here?" he shouted to the traitors who were carrying some food into the eating area. "What does it look like Inuyasha?" said Miroku innocently. "We're trying to help you."

"Look if I needed your help I…"

"Inuyasha?" said a voice as gentle as a dove. Inuyasha turned around to see Kagome coming down the staircase… but what made his heart skip beats was the dress that she was wearing.

The dress was a beautiful navy blue with long sleeves cut at an angle. It went all the way down to her ankles and from the middle of the waist to the bottom of the dress was split reveling a cream colored fabric with roses stitched into it. The sleeves, neckline, and edges of the slit where trimmed with gold. Then there was the necklace… the necklace that he had given to her….

After staring at her, he saw that there were no flaws. She was perfect.

"Sango," said Kagome. "I don't know why you wanted me to wear this."

"Oh, come on Kagome," said Sango. "I told you, this dress doesn't fit me anymore and I wanted you to have it. But I wanted everyone to see you in it! You look stunning!"

_'Stunning?'_ thought Inuyasha. _'She's more than stunning… out of all the people on earth, she was the one to walk into my life… who completed me and stole my heart.'_

"Well," said Miroku as both girls reached the bottom of the stairs. "I must say, you look absolutely stunning. I wish I stay… but… Sango?"

Sang rolled her eyes as she began to follow him. "I'm sorry, Kagome," she called. "But Miroku said that he needed to show me something. But we'll be back first thing in the morning! Promise!"

As Miroku walked pass Inuyasha he whispered into his ear, "There are some very special bottles that I keep in the hidden in the kitchen. Bottle of red… bottle of white… whatever kind of mood, you're in tonight."

"Miroku, you…" hissed Inuyasha as he made a swipe at Miroku, who unfortunately, was able to avoid. Miroku then turned to Sango and asked her if she was ready for a special surprise.

"This better be good lecher," she said coldly as she followed him out of the room. But what no one heard was the slight whisper that Miroku gave her, "You are a good actress."

Inuyasha and Kagome were then left alone in the room.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha shyly before she walked over to stand in front of him. "Ah," she began in embarrassment. "Does this really look good on me?"

"Yeah…" said Inuyasha who couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. "I—I just—well—you," he stuttered.

Kagome laughed. "Ok, I'll take your word for it." She turned red as she began to walk into the dining hall for breakfast. "I just finished getting ready for today, when Sango came in with this dress. She said that she and Miroku were going somewhere today and she couldn't wait until tomorrow to see me in it." She stopped talking; she knew that she was sounding like an idiot.

But she wanted to get her mind of the way that Inuyasha was staring at her. _'My heart was not prepared for this. So why do I feel this way about you?'_ she thought.

"Yeah," said Inuyasha trying to keep up their conversation. "She sure seemed excited this morning."

They both spent a quiet breakfast together, not even looking each other in the eye. Once they had finished, Kagome got up and asked if they could take a walk together around the castle together. "Don't you know your way around here by now?" he asked sounding like himself again.

Kagome shrugged in embarrassment before whispering that she thought that it would be nice to take a walk with each other. Inuyasha felt himself blush and got up to join her.

_*Later*_

The two of them spent the rest of the morning wondering around inside the castle, and talking. Kagome told Inuyasha about her childhood, her village, her family, and about the two idiots for her suitors.

"Your suitors?" hissed Inuyasha sounding angry.

"Yeah," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, they just can't take the hint that I don't like either of them."

"They why do they keep asking you to marry them?" demanded Inuyasha a little forcefully. Kagome looked up at him surprised. "Because they're too dense to take a hint?" she answered.

"Were you going to marry them?" he asked.

Kagome stopped walking and turned to give him an angry look. "What part of 'I don't want to marry them' did you not understand?"

Inuyasha turned his head away from her. "I was just asking that all. Not that I care or nothing."

"Oh," said Kagome with her hands on her hips. "If that's a fact… then fine!" she then went storming off. "I'll just leave you alone today!"

Inuyasha watched her go in surprise, before smacking himself of the head muttering, "You idiot!"

_*Later that night*_

Kagome had spent the rest of the day in the library and read. Every once in awhile she would look up at that the door, hoping that Inuyasha would come through it at any moment and want to know what she was doing.

And every time she would turn back to her books and let out a sad sigh. She knew she shouldn't have gotten angry at him earlier… but he was so very good at making her mad.

She finally looked out the window and saw that the sun was already going down. "Boy," she said in surprise as she stood up and brushed the wrinkles from her new dress. "It's gotten so late."

She went to the window to pull the curtains back slightly so that she could get a better look at the sunset. She watched until the shining sun's head disappeared before she turned and left the library, deciding to go find Inuyasha and see if he had calmed down.

After she walked down a few halls and through a few rooms, she noticed something strange. The door to the ballroom was opened. Ayame had told her that they kept that room locked at all times. When Kagome had asked her why, she said that it was because that the last time that it was opened… things were in a much happier time.

Kagome knew that she and Inuyasha were the only people in the castle so he had to be the only one who could've opened the door. So against her better judgments she slipped pass the door.

She was back inside the ballroom. The last time that she had been in here was the night that she was dumb enough to go into Inuyasha's room only to nearly be torn to shreds. But the room looked different now. The mirrors that covered the walls were spotless, the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, had all been dusted and polished, and the floor had been cleaned to a sparkling shine.

Kagome stepped around the gorgeous ballroom, and couldn't help but gasped again as she stared at the ceiling. She stared above her until her neck hurt, and looked around the room. What she saw next surprised her.

It was a large music box that was on a small table near a corner of the ballroom.

**(I don't know if music boxes existed around this time, but just bear with me) **

Kagome went over to the box and opened it.

As soon as she opened the small lid, she heard violins beginning to play a slow waltz, accompanied by softly blowing trumpets. Kagome was blown away by the sweet music and listened for a short time, before she then walked to the center of the ballroom, and closed her eyes. She put her arms in a frame, as if there was really a man there in front of her. And she started dancing.

Kagome was light on her feet, and she twirled, but when she came back to her 'partner', she felt a hand encircle her waist. Her eyes snapped open. In front of her was none other than Inuyasha.

Kagome's eyes widened in shock and she drew back. "Inuyasha… I'm sorry… I saw the door opened and I just…"

"It's alright," said Inuyasha almost dully. "Sango and Miroku have been coming in here and been cleaning without me knowing about it and I decided to see what they've done. And then I saw you come in and…"

Kagome blushed fiercely when she realized that he watching her dance. She turned her head away and said trying to justify herself, "I couldn't help it. I was listening to the music and I just…"

"No, I… I like… watching you dance."

Kagome's head snapped up. "I'm sorry, but I think that there must be something wrong with my hearing. I could've sworn that you said that you liked watching me dance?"

Inuyasha started mumbling under his breath. Kagome saw that he really meant it; she was truly touched. "Do you care to dance?" she asked him softly. Inuyasha's eyes widen and he harshly shook his head.

"What's wrong?" asked Kagome worriedly.

Inuyasha blushed and muttered something like, "I can't dance."

Kagome gave him a gentle laugh as she came closer to him. "It's easy," she said. She pulled him close, put one of his hands on her waist, and took hold of the other one. She saw him blush redder than ever, and gulped.

Kagome then began to led them around the ballroom.

She could hardly believe that she was dancing with Inuyasha and in what she was wearing; she didn't know whether she should be grateful or angry at Sango for giving her the dress.

Kagome felt like she was flying in Inuyasha arms, who after a few minutes seemed to gain more confidence in his dancing and began to really get into it. She felt him pulling her closer as the music began to go faster. Kagome closed her eyes and continued their spinning and let Inuyasha take over the led.

She felt him let go of her hand and place it behind her neck. His arms pulled her closer, encircling her tighter. She had no idea what he was going to do, but it was at that moment that the music stopped.

Kagome felt as if she was coming out of a trance as soon as the music stopped. By the time she opened her eyes to see where she was… Inuyasha's lips were only an inch away from touching her own. When Inuyasha saw that her eyes were open, he quickly drew away.

"Sorry," he said quickly and he tried to leave the room.

"No," said Kagome as she reached out and took his hand. "Please… don't go," she begged. When Inuyasha looked back at her, he saw that she looked sadder than he had ever seen her before. Tears were forming in her eyes and she began to cry.

Feeling sick with himself for making her cry, he pulled her tight against his chest and held her there. At that moment, he was willing to do anything to make her happy again. It broke his heart to see her like this. He whispered words of comfort that he had learned from his mother and held her until he could feel her calm down and began to sniffle.

"Are you ok?" he asked her timidly as if he was afraid that she was going to cry again. Kagome looked up into his eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry," was all she could say. "I really don't know what came over me. I just couldn't help but…"

Inuyasha just pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her even tighter. "It's alright now."

He decided that she should go back to her room and get some sleep. He put his arm around her shoulders as he led her out of the ballroom and through the castle. He didn't think that she was paying the slightest bit of attention to anything else around her.

Once they were outside her door, Kagome wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said.

"You don't have to keep apologizing," he said gruffly. "But why did you start crying?"

Dragging the knuckle of her index finger across her eyes, Kagome dabbed her tears before they could completely descend from her chocolate-brown orbs. "Because… I just felt so bad for the argument this morning… and I thought that… I thought that you were still mad at me and I… after everything that's happening… I guess I just couldn't take it anymore." She angrily brushed away a few more tears. "I'm just being stupid."

Inuyasha's face softened as he brushed the few tears on her face away before saying, "I don't think so."

Kagome looked at his face and gave him a grateful smile. "Inuyasha?" she said softly.

"Yes?" asked Inuyasha as he was about to walk away. Kagome was looking down at her feet and said without looking at him. "You're a really good dancer."

"Oh…" sputtered Inuyasha completely taken aback. "Well… I…" why was she so good at making him speechless?

Kagome raised her head, and walked over to him before she spoke again. "Thank you. For everything." She stood up on her tippy-toes and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, she muttered another quick 'thank you' before she turned and ran into her room.

Inuyasha stood there completely stunned. He honest couldn't be more shocked if he woke up the next morning and had grown an extra head. When he raised his hand up to his cheek and he could still feel Kagome's lips against his skin. He turned around and stumbled as if he really had drunk the wine that Miroku said he had in the kitchen and made his way to his room.

Kagome drove him crazy… and maybe love is the reason?

Kagome was leaning up against her bedroom door and was touching her lips. What was she thinking? How could she just jump up on him like that? She slipped down until she was on the floor. Still astonished that she had the nerve to kiss him like that…

… but she still couldn't stop herself from smiling through her red eyes.

**4 more days left! Can they make it? What could possibly happen in just 4 days? This story is starting to come to the end… and it's only going to get better!**

**Preview:**

**"Inuyasha," said Kagome in concern. "What are you saying?"**

**"Because," growled Inuyasha. "It's getting harder and harder to contain my demonic side. I don't want you to get hurt from me ever again."**

**"But Inuyasha," Kagome said, not believing what he was telling her.**

**"Please Kagome," hissed Inuyasha as if every word was causing him a huge amount of pain. "Please leave… go back home to your family. As long as I know that you're alive and well… that's all I hope for. I can not bear… bear it… if something happened to you. If I was the one that took your life."**

**Chapter Names**

**Prayer of Love **

**Say Anything but Goodbye **

**I'll be back for you**

**I'll always be here for you**

**Just where is Home?**


	22. Say Anything But Goodbye

**This title won by a landslide **

**Chapter 21- Say Anything But Goodbye**

Miroku very quietly poked his head into Inuyasha's room the following morning. He saw Inuyasha sleeping like a log, passed out cold on the bed. Disappointed, he closed the door quietly before he walked down to the end of the hallway, where Shippo, Kohaku, and Rin were waiting for him.

"Well?" asked Kohaku quietly.

Miroku shook his head. "Seeing that we're all still demons… I'm gonna guess that Inuyasha didn't tell Kagome that he loves her yet."

"Oh, come on," said Shippo exasperatedly. "What the heck's he waiting for?"

"Hey," said a voice. The three of them turned to see Sango and Ayame walking towards them with identical gloomy looks on their faces. Miroku noticed the sad expressions and asked in a sarcastic tone, "I take it that Kagome didn't say that she loves Inuyasha?"

"No," said Ayame unhappily. "Kagome's awake, and when we went to say hello, she wasn't acting any differently than usual."

"It's alright," sighed Miroku trying to hold back his frustration. "Rome wasn't built in a day." The group of them decided to all head down to breakfast.

"Yeah," said Kohaku bitterly. "But the Romans had all the time in the world. And all they had to do was build entire civilizations and cities. We on the other hand, have to get two stubborn people to say 3 little words to each other less than 4 days! Man, Inuyasha and Kagome really are both dense."

"And after we gave them the perfect opportunity last night," said Sango shaking her head. "Just what is it going to take for them to face up?"

"What are we going to do?" asked Rin.

"Well," said Miroku, putting his hand on Rin's shoulder in a comforting way. "If push comes to shove, we can always lock them in a room together and not let them out until they save 'I love you'."

"Hmm," grumbled Shippo. "That's what I've been suggesting since day one!"

Sango smacked them both on the sides of their heads. "Shut up and move on. We all still have time left!"

"Yeah," said a grumpy Shippo rubbing his head. "But we only have 4 days left!"

"And 4 days is all we need," said Ayame confidently.

"But…" began Rin.

"Shut up!" hissed Miroku in alarm.

Kagome had just come running up to them. "Hey guys. How was your night out?"

_*Inuyasha*_

Inuyasha had finally woken up to a blaring sun coming through the open window, and the sound of songbirds calling. He groaned as he forced himself to get out of bed and dragged his tired body across the room. For some reason… he was having trouble getting his body too corporate. He walked a few steps to the door… but then all of a sudden collapsed onto the floor.

He was having trouble breathing… he was hurting… it felt like his very insides were burning… the curse was hurting him again… but this time was different.

His demon side didn't appear in his head and begin raging a war with him. Instead he just felt a terrible smoldering pain inside him… a terrible burning desire to see blood. He wanted blood, death, pain… he wanted it all.

And he wanted to be the one to cause it all. He lay down and wished he could die; he wished that he could end it all. And he found himself in darkness.

The others were all talking and enjoying their breakfast in the dining hall. Kagome wanted to know everything that had happened to them while they were out, and the others all had to make up lies. The truth is that they all spent the night together in the trees and wondering if Inuyasha had the guts to tell Kagome how he felt.

"So…" said Miroku after taking a sip of his juice and looking up at her; he needed to know if anything at all had happened last night. "Did anything happen while we were gone?" He saw Kagome look at him startled for a moment before she blushed a bright red. Hope sprung into his heart.

Kagome shrugged and said, "Nothing interesting. We got into a bad fight after breakfast and we spent the whole day avoiding each other. But we made up again right after dinner."

"That's it?" demanded Shippo. Sango kicked him from underneath the table.

"What he means is," said Sango quickly noticing the confused look on Kagome's face, "You spent the whole day not talking to each other? Sounds boring."

Kagome nodded, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something important, "Yeah, it was boring." She took another bite of food before she went on, "You know…" she looked at them as if she was seeing them in a new light. "At first I thought that you were expecting something to happen between us. Like you were expecting something big to happen while you guys were gone."

Sango looked at Miroku with a calm look, but there was a panic in her eyes. Miroku gave Shippo a dark look that clearly said, 'we are going to kill you', before he put on a fake smile. "Don't be ridiculous Kagome," he said almost too friendly. "We were expecting that you would find something else to do than not to talk to Inuyasha all day."

"Oh," said Kagome nodding her head she said not buying his story, "Like what?"

As Miroku thought quickly to make up something, Rin suddenly asked, "Speaking of Inuyasha, where is he? His breakfast is going to get cold." As soon as Rin spoke, they realized that she was right. Inuyasha was usually down here eating by now. When Kagome noticed this, she got worried.

"Yeah," said Shippo. "Where is that idiot?"

Kagome put down her fork and got up, "I'll go and check on him. I'm finished." But as she left she couldn't help but think _'Is it just me or did they look a little too happy that I left?' _

She reached Inuyasha's room in record time; and for some reason, she suddenly found the need to fix her hair before she knocked. She knocked on the door, but to her surprise, Inuyasha didn't answer. "Inuyasha?" she called through the door. "Inuyasha? Are you in there?" Still no answer. Worried, Kagome opened the door just a hair to peek into the room.

She didn't know what she was expecting… but this wasn't it. Inuyasha was laying face-down on the floor and he wasn't moving. In a panic, Kagome burst in and flew to his side. Kagome got down on her knees and put her hands cautiously on his back as she screamed out his name.

_*Inuyasha* _

Inuyasha was in the darkness of his own mind. Lost and alone, not knowing what to do. All he knew was that if something wasn't done, then he would never find his way out of this never-ending darkness.

_'Inuyasha!'_ screamed a voice.

Someone was calling his name.

_'Inuyasha!'_

Who was it? That voice sounded familiar. If angels had voices, this might've been one. But this voice sounded more beautiful and more wonderful than any angel. It had become a ray of light in this world of darkness. He wanted to find where this voice was coming from… he followed the voice.

_'Inuyasha…'_

It sounded closer now…

_'Inuyasha…' _

He was nearing it…

'INUYASHA!'

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he shot up so suddenly, that Kagome jumped back. Inuyasha was back in his room, sweating as if he had been running for days without a break, and feeling more tired and sore than he ever did in his life. 'That voice was Kagome's…' he thought. "Kagome?" he asked as he looked around.

"I'm right here," she said as she came over to him.

"What happened to you?" she asked as she helped him get back to his feet. He was breathing deeply; her scent comforted him, it calmed him down so that he could think. He looked at her in the eye, and saw that they were red… she was scared. Scared for him… scared that something had happened to him.

"The curse," he croaked out as he walked towards the window, his back to Kagome. He looked at the floating jewel beneath the glass… it was almost complete… only a few more shards to go…

"The curse is finally starting to take its full effects… I'm almost out of time."

Kagome gasped as she walked a few steps forward. "Inuyasha…" she began.

"Kagome," he said harshly. He knew that she stopped dead by his tone but he ignored that as he went on, "You must leave now."

"What?" she asked incredulity. "You want me to back to my room and pretend that this didn't just happen? Are you crazy?"

Inuyasha shook his head, "No…" he whispered feeling as if his heart was being crushed. "No, not to your room… I want you to leave the castle… go back to your family…"

Neither one spoke, too stunned by what Inuyasha had just said.

"Inuyasha," said Kagome feeling numb, "What are you saying?"

"I said," growled Inuyasha as if he was having trouble breathing. "It's getting harder and harder to contain my demonic side. I don't want you to get hurt from me ever again."

"But Inuyasha," Kagome said, not believing what he was telling her.

"Please Kagome," hissed Inuyasha as if every word was causing him a huge amount of pain. "Please leave… go back home to your family. As long as I know that you're alive and well… that's all I hope for. I can not bear… bear it… if something happened to you. If I was the one that took your life…"

"Inuyasha…" said Kagome as she put her hand on his shoulder, trying to console him, but instead he slapped her hand away as if he couldn't bear to feel her touch.

"Leave me Kagome," he croaked as he continued to have trouble breathing. "Please… I can't say what I'm going to do next."

"No," Kagome almost shouted. "I'm not going to leave you!" Then without warning, Inuyasha shoved her so hard that she was knocked to the ground. Before she could even make sense of what just happened, he was standing over her. A mad glint in his eyes… and in the instant, Kagome knew that he was on the brink of insanity. She tried to crawl backwards but the wild look on his face scared her more than anything, and she couldn't move. She felt terror running throughout her body and she began to shake with fear.

Something flashed in Inuyasha's eyes as he looked down at her scared form. For a moment, the insane look faded to confusion, which turned to realization, and finally to horror. He took a step back away from her, as if he was the one afraid. Kagome took this moment to stand up and step backwards.

Breathing deeply, a hand over her heart, she stared at the pained look on his face. As she looked, she felt as if her heart was being broken into pieces. She took an uncertain step towards him and held out her hand, wanting to touch him. Wanting to hold him, and comfort him… let him know that everything was going to be alright. But as she took a step forward, he took another step back.

"No don't," he cried. "Don't come near me! I'm dangerous, I'm not safe for you!"

Kagome didn't listen, she couldn't help herself. She just couldn't stand by and watch Inuyasha suffering like this. "I can't," she whispered and continued forward until she stood less than a foot away. He seemed to want to keep moving backwards, away from her, but she was faster this time. She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned her head against his toned chest. "I sorry," she whispered as tears began to burn her vision. "I don't know how I can help you… I don't know what to do… but I can't just leave you! Not now… please say anything to me… anything but goodbye…"

The air around them was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Cautiously, she felt Inuyasha's hands come up and touch her shoulders. He touched her as if she was made of porcelain, as if he was afraid that he would break her. After a few minutes, he put his hands on her back and hugged her close to him… like he never wanted to let go.

"Kagome?" he said quietly as he held her. She nodded immediately and he smiled softly, he put one of his hands on the back of her head and tightened the one on her back. Her insides melted at the sound of his voice and the feel of his touch; she briefly wondered what he must've been feeling and what was going through his mind.

She never wanted to leave the warmth and safety of his arms. But then Inuyasha pulled away, holding only her wrists. Surprised, Kagome glanced up into the harsh, demonic face that she knew so well, and felt her heart beating so hard that she thought that Inuyasha could've felt it when he was holding her. The pained look in Inuyasha's face didn't lessen… instead it seemed to increase. He took her hands in his own clawed ones and held her gaze… he then leaned forward and kissed her gently on her forehead.

Her face felt as if it were on fire, as soon as his lips burned her skin… but not as if it were in a bad way… it felt wonderful. He then pulled her close to him again, so that his head was resting on her shoulder and his breath ghosted over her neck. "Forgive me," he said so quietly that Kagome wasn't sure she had heard it.

"For wha…?" but she didn't get a chance to finish. She felt a deep pain in her stomach, and darkness covered her eyes.

_*Inuyasha*_

Inuyasha stared down at the unconscious woman that he had just knocked out. It made him feel sick to do it, but he knew that he had no other choice. He knew that she wasn't going to leave, and he knew that as long as she was around there will always be a chance that he would kill her. And that would be more painful then death.

He picked her up bridal style and hugged her close to him; she felt so limp in his arms. He had to work fast, he had punched her hard in the stomach but she would be coming to in a short time. He also knew that the longer that he had her in his arms, the harder it would be to let her go. He didn't want to do it, but he had to do what was best for her. He felt that this was the only way.

He turned towards the open window and with a great leap, landed from windowsill to balcony until he was on the ground.

He had moved so gently that he barely disturbed Kagome, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He then began to walk toward the forest, wanting to hurry, but wanting to take his time as well. Oh, if only there was a way to make time stand still, he would do it. To stay with Kagome and not have to worry about hurting her… he would've given everything for that.

Kagome softly moaned in her sleep. Inuyasha gave a small grimaced when he realized that she was going to be madder than hell when she awakes up. Normally, the idea would terrify him, but at the moment he would've taken it and considered it a blessing. Funny how the idea of leaving someone that you care for and knowing that you're never gonna seeing them again makes you appreciate all the little things about that person.

He walked through the forest, barely able to keep his eyes off the sleeping girl, and bumping his head on low branches. He hardly noticed, the pain in his head, was nothing compared to the pain that was threatening to tear him apart from the inside. He quicken his pace slightly, he was just torturing himself with taking his time. He was also dreading going back to the castle… he knew that everyone would never forgive him for what he was doing.

He walked on not paying any attention to any of the other sounds that were going on around him except for Kagome's breathing, and the sound of his heart breaking. He could feel his heart breaking into pieces… the pieces that had put together by Kagome… they didn't fall back into little shattered shards of a lost hope however… no… that would mean there would be a chance for his heart to get put back together, that there was a chance for life again…

There was no hope with her out of reach; no good thoughts or remedies that could save him from this fate… his heart will die without her. He knew that there was no way in hell that he could ever even begin to fix what has happened and honestly he didn't want to try; she was better off with her family. They love and miss her, and they would find someone who can give her everything that she deserves. Like a complete heart.

His was missing so many pieces that it was ridiculous to think he could give the most important person in the world to him; what she really needed. Sure money could buy everything to take care of her… but that's not what Kagome wanted or needed… she needed the things that you can't buy, the emotions others had around her… love. He knew that the most he could give her…

Was a half-demon, with a curse that could end up killing her one day, and a lumpy heart.

She deserved perfection, or something close to it.

_*Later*_

He walked out of the forest and came to a soft green pasture near a hill. Yes, this should be good enough. There weren't any demons around for miles, and her home was just over the hill. Kagome stirred again. She would be waking up soon.

He came to the foot of a large tree and very gently laid her down against the trunk. He pushed her hair away from her face, and stroked her cheek which was as soft as silk. He stared long and hard at her, wanting to memorize her face… wanting to keep her forever burned into his mind. She stirred again… he didn't have much time.

He was clenching his other fist so hard that he was starting to bleed. He shook his head as he looked at her lips… just one kiss… that was all he wanted. He lowered his head towards her; he wanted just one kiss… more than anything… just to know what it would feel like. This would be the last chance that he would get… he was so close now… all he would have to do is lower his head less than half an inch!

But then he came back to reality, and he pulled back in fear. No, he couldn't do this to himself. One kiss would be too much for him. There was no way that he could ever leave her if he kissed her now.

He took a few deep breaths as he punched himself hard. "Why? What did I do to deserve this?" he whispered his voice cracking.

He raised his head, to look up at her again… he brushed his hand against Kagome's cheek one last time before finally standing up and slowly walking backwards away from her. He was taking as many deep breaths that he could, inhaling her sweet scent, wanting to keep her smell burned into his memory too. He had been suffering for 7 years… 7 years of pain and torture… but none of that could compare with the pain he was feeling in his heart right now. Kagome started to moan and groan as she began to move her head… she'd be wide awake in a few minutes.

"Kagome," whispered Inuyasha as he continued to walk backwards but never taking his eyes off her. "Please… stay safe… take care. I'll be praying for that…" and he then turned and ran back into the forest. And he didn't look back.

_*Kagome*_

Kagome had woken up underneath a tall tree with bright sunlight shining down at her. She tried to move but she felt a pain in her lower stomach and put her hands there trying to lessen the pain. It felt as if someone had punched her with an iron fist. She let out a soft moan as she forced herself to sit up.

"What happened?" she said to herself as she leaned against the tree as she forced herself to get up. "And what am I doing outside?" and then it all came back to her. She was trying to comfort Inuyasha who kept telling her to leave… and then…

"THAT JERK!" she screamed in outrage when she figured out what had happened. "HE KNOCKED ME OUT! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM I'M GONNA…" but she finally took in her surroundings. She wasn't out in the gardens like she first thought, she wasn't outside in the courtyard with the castle looming over her… in fact, she wasn't anywhere near the castle.

Clutching her stomach, she staggered away from the tree and stared around her, trying to figure out where she was. But the only thing on her mind was what Inuyasha said about her to go home…

"He… he didn't…" she whispered as she walked fast towards the hill. She needed to know, if that was the hill where she could see her family's house… Inuyasha couldn't have…

She almost ran up the hill; but before she reached the top, she closed her eyes. She wanted to see, but she was also terrified of what she might see. If she was right, then she would never see Inuyasha and the others again.

She had mixed feelings. She wanted to see her family again of course, but at what cost? What would she end up losing? She opened her eyes… and they then filled with tears.

There in the distance she could see the farm where her mother, grandpa, and Sota all were living. She would recognize the house anywhere, even if it had been months since she'd seen it. She recognized the worn-out looking barn with the familiar chickens and animals walking around, she recognized the same tired looking fence that surrounded their property, the same tree that she climbed up every day when she was little. Everything was just as she remembered it…

She felt overwhelming joy at being able to see the home that she never thought that she would ever see again. She wanted to run down and into her family's embrace and never let go…

but…

She looked behind her at the forest. She thought of the castle that had become her home. She thought of the friends that were like family to her, and all the good times she had there. She thought of how the castle had become her new home… and she thought about Inuyasha… someone who she cherished and cared for. Feelings for her old home fought against the feelings for her new home inside her. She knew that the tears were falling and she didn't want them to stop. She wanted her mother…

She turned and ran down the hill towards the farm… she never needed her mother more than right now.

_*Sota* _

Sota had just come out of the barn after feeding Jinenji and the other animals. He had just walked up to the front of the house when he noticed a figure coming towards them. It was too far for him to tell who it was. He stopped right in the front door to stare at the figure, when his mother just walked into him.

"Sorry Sota," she said sadly. She had been sounding like that for months now… as if she had died inside… ever since her daughter had been taken away. But when Sota didn't answer her, she asked what was wrong. Sota merely pointed in the distance at the figure that was slowly walking towards them.

"Mom…" said Sota softly. "Who's that?" He walked a few feet away from the front door so that his mother could walk out.

Slowly, his mother walked over to stand next to him with a strange look on her face, "I don't know." Sota realized that his mom felt the same way that he did… he didn't understand what he felt, but he couldn't take his eyes off the person coming this way.

"Sota?" suddenly called an old voice from inside the house, "Are you done yet?"

"Grandpa," he called back in a slightly strangled voice. "Grandpa, can you come out here for a minute?"

The old man came out the door and asked, slightly irritated, "What is it?" He saw that they were staring ahead as if stunned by something. "What're you looking at?"

As the figure came closer, Sota recognized who it was. "Kagome?" he whispered softly.

"Kagome!" screamed out his mother and she began running towards her daughter with tears falling down her face. Sota came out of his moment of shock and followed close behind, with grandpa bringing up the rear. He saw that his sister was also crying, as she ran towards them with tears streaming down her face. She ran straight into the waiting arms of mother and sobbed into her shoulder.

"Mom," she said through her tears and sobs. "Mom, Sota…" she buried her face into her mother's clothes and held on like she was a lifeline.

Kagome couldn't hear the words of wonder and joy from her family… the only thing she could hear was the sound of her heart breaking.

**Inuyasha brought her home to her family. But what's gonna happen to the rest of them? How are the others going to take the news? Where did Inuyasha go? Only 3 and a half days left before time runs out. What's going to happen to everyone? Will Kagome go back? Will Inuyasha come back? What about Koga, Hojo, and Kikyo? What parts will they play? Thank you all for the reviews, they are my biggest inspiration. I'm sorry to say that this story will be coming to an end soon though. YAY! WAHH! As you can see, I have mixed feelings about it. But don't worry, this story isn't over yet! And soon, I'm gonna be putting up another story! **

**Preview:**

**"Demon boyfriend? A demon boyfriend? Who said that I have a demon boyfriend?" demanded Kagome. **

**"Oh, come on Kagome," said her grandfather as he rolled his eyes. "You've been crying and wanting to go and see him again ever since you got here. Kagome, that kind of love doesn't last long. You'll get over it soon."**

**Love? Did her grandfather just say love? She knew it for some time… but she didn't realize that she needed to hear it out loud. She looked up at her family with a strange, far-off look in her eyes. They all looked at her in concern at her sudden change in attitude.**

**"Did you just say love?" Kagome asked her grandfather as if in a daze.**

**Grandpa's eyes widened in horror as if he just realized that he made a mistake and quickly shouted, "NO!"**

**"You did," said Kagome as if she hadn't heard what he just said.**

**"Kagome!" grandpa began.**

**"You're right," went on Kagome quickly.**

**"Don't say it!" yelled grandpa.**

**"I LOVE him!" said Kagome. And as soon as she said that… she knew that her words were true. Her family stared at her in amazement. "**

**I have to go back… I have to tell him!" But as she reached for the doorknob, her grandfather grabbed her hand and held her back.**

**Chapter Names**

**Did You Just Say Love?**

**Rules are Meant to be Broken**

**What I Love About Him **

**The Thought of You**

**Where's my Home? **


	23. Did you just say love?

**Chapter 22- ****Did you just say love? **

"YOU DID WHAT?" screamed Miroku at a broken Inuyasha. "KAGOME WAS NOT ONLY THE ONLY HOPE WE HAD, BUT SHE WAS ALSO OUR FRIEND! AND YOU TOOK HER BACK TO THE VILLAGE?"

"Did you at least tell her how you felt?" demanded Sango furiously. "Don't tell me that you sent her home without telling her the truth." When he didn't answer Miroku punched the wall in anger, and leaving a good fist-size hole

"You didn't tell her? You didn't tell her that you love her? What she means to you?" he asked.

"No," whispered Inuyasha in a crushed voice.

"Why?" demanded Miroku desperately.

"Because," replied Inuyasha as he turned away from them and headed up to his room, wanting to be left alone, "I did it **because** I love her."

He then left, leaving the other two staring after him with amazed looks on their faces. But unbeknownst to any of them, two small figures had been watching the entire scene from one of the rooms.

Rin and Shippo were both staring at each other with helpless expressions on their faces.

"Inuyasha took Kagome home?" asked Rin. "Why?"

"Because Inuyasha's an idiot," answered Shippo. "But he came so close."

"He can tell Sango and Miroku he loves her, but why can't he tell Kagome?" asked Rin trying to figure this out.

Shippo shrugged, "I don't know. But I'm not giving up now!" He stood up and headed in the direction of the front doors.

"Shippo?" called Rin, "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" he called back. "I'm going to find Kagome and get some answers."

_*Kagome's house*_

Once Kagome had calmed down and the family was through with the hugs and the tears they all went inside the house. Kagome sat on the couch, and leaned into her mother as she continued to weep. Mom just stroked Kagome's hair and kept telling her that everything was going to be alright; Kagome however just kept shaking her head.

While they were on the couch, Sota was able to get a better look at his sister. She didn't look like someone who had been held captive in a creepy castle at the mercy of an evil demon. She looked well-fed, her hair was cleaned and combed, she was dressed in a simple but beautiful sky-blue kimono… in fact, if it wasn't for the tears and red eyes, Sota would say that she looked better than when she lived here. When he first saw her running towards them, he thought that they were tears of joy. But after getting a better look at her, he could see it…

… she was unbearably unhappy.

It was tearing his heart out to see his sister so sad. But why? She was away from that castle and that demon, and she was now back home with them. Shouldn't she be happy? Like jumping for joy happy?

He sat on Kagome's other side and leaned his head against her shoulder as he stroked her arm in a comforting way. "Kagome?" he asked a little scared. "What's wrong? What did that demon do to you?"

Kagome looked at him, "Demon?" she asked in a broken voice. "You mean Inuyasha?"

Sota was sat up straight and was staring at her as if she was crazy. "That thing has a name?" he asked, "You know the one who was keeping you trapped inside that castle? The one who almost killed you when you came to save me?"

It took Kagome a minute to realize what her brother was talking about. "Oh, yeah… that's right… he did… didn't he?" she said more to herself than to the others.

"Kagome?" asked Sota, shaking his head as he stared at her in amazement, "You said that you would stay there forever if that demon… Inuyasha… whatever his name; would let me go. So then…"

"How did you escape?" asked grandpa. "I bet that you purified him right? You purified him until there wasn't anything left didn't you?"

Kagome shook her head.

"Then…" began her mother slowly, "How in heaven did you escape?"

Kagome just shook her head again, "I didn't escape mom… Inuyasha brought me home."

They stared at her as if she spoke in another language, "He let you go?" demanded Sota not believing it. "That demon actually let you come home?"

"No," said Kagome as she rubbed her lower stomach with a wince and a sharp intake of breath. "He knocked me out, and when I woke up… I was underneath a tree near the top of the hill."

"He hit you?" shrieked Sota furious that anyone would dare to hurt his sister.

"I'm fine Sota," Kagome said quickly. "He only hit me hard enough to knock me out and he brought me back here, because I was near the hill when I finally woke up."

"Wait… let me get this straight," her grandfather said in disbelief. "He knocked you out and brought you back here?"

"He did," whispered Kagome sadly.

Her mother suddenly said, "Kagome? Maybe you should go and get some sleep. You'll feel so much better."

Tired, Kagome could only nod as she stood up with her mother's arms still wrapped around her like a security blanket. The two women walk through the all-too-familiar house and up to Kagome's old bedroom. Kagome only just realized how tired she was when her mom opened the door and lead her into the room; she felt like she could sleep for a week. She got a good look around her and gave a small chuckle, "How nostalgic… not much has changed."

Her mom shook her head, "After you were taken from us, we were all so heartbroken that we didn't have the heart to change anything. We left it exactly how you left it."

"I can see that," said Kagome wearily. "I mean, the scarf I left on the floor is still there…"

Her mom led her over to her bed and helped her into it.

"Mom? What's it like when your heart breaks?" Kagome asked as her mother pulled the blankets up around her.

Her mother look intently at her for a moment before asking, "Why do ask that?"

Kagome shook her head as she turned her head away and shut her eyes. "Never mind, just forget it," she said sadly. Her mother gave her a sad smile as she stroked her daughter's face gently.

"Alright," she said softly. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Mmm," said Kagome through her tiredness.

"Kagome?" her mother's voice said. "I'm so glad to have you back."

Kagome looked up at her mom's tear-filled eyes and she said, "I love you mom. I missed you all so much." She then shut her eyes again and felt herself beginning to doze off. She heard her mother get up and walk to the door. She suspected that her mom stood in the doorway and was watching her, because it was several long minutes before she heard her bedroom door shut. She was left alone in her room… which meant she could finish crying herself to sleep.

_*Later on*_

Kagome opened her eyes to see the moonlight shining through her window. Curious, she looked around her, wondering when she went to sleep… only to look around her to see that she was no longer in her room at the castle, but back home.

Startled, she sat, trying to remember what had happened… and then it all came flooding back to her. She remembered that Inuyasha had knocked her out, and must've brought her back home. She fell back against the pillows, trying to understand the pain in her heart. She should be happy now right? She was finally back with her family… the family that she never thought that she would see again. So why?

Why does her heart feel like it's cracking in a million pieces?

As she let out a sigh of despair, she heard her bedroom door open creakily. For one wild moment she was sure that it would be Inuyasha or Sango coming in to check on her…

"Kagome?" said a soft voice.

"Oh, Sota," said Kagome sitting back up, feeling both joy and disappointment. Sota walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He looked at Kagome for a moment, before he ran over to her and gave her a rib-shattering hug.

Stunned and wide eyes, Kagome could only hold her brother, not understanding what was going on. She rubbed his back in a reassuring way and whispered comforting words to him. It was then she realized that her Sota was crying; he racked with sobs as he clung to Kagome, "Sota?" she asked as she held him against her. "What's wrong?"

"I was afraid," he whispered with a sniffle. "I thought that I would never see you again. You have no idea how many nightmares I had when you were gone. What I dreamt that he was doing to you… I…"

"Shhhh…" said Kagome as she held him tight. "It's alright Sota. He never hurt me… well not when he could help it."

Sota let out another sniff before leaning back on her bed and looking up at her with a puzzled stare. "What do you mean by that?"

And for the next hour and a half, Kagome told him about her life at the castle after he left. She told him about how much she cried as she saw him being taken away from the castle and how she longed to see him. She told Sota about Inuyasha and the curse that he was under, how she was treated there, how everyone thought that she might've been able to break the curse, how Inuyasha took care of her when she got sick, and how much Inuyasha suffered.

She left out a few things… like how he injured her the night she found out about the curse and when he attacked her just a few days ago… like how he showed her that clearing in the woods and she gave him that handmade necklace of beads and fangs… how he had walked in on her when she was bathing… she was still angry at that… how she would spend long hours reading out-loud to him… they way that they danced just a few nights about… and how she saw him as a dark angel…

Once she had finished, Sota was staring at her in amazement. "He did all that?" he asked not sure to believe it.

Kagome nodded, "We had a bad start, and we still argued over the littlest things… but still. He was still so kind to me Sota." She suddenly realized something and reached up to her neck to pull out the necklace that Inuyasha had given her from her kimono. She had forgotten that she had been wearing it.

Sota let out a small gasp as he reached up to touch it. "He gave this to you?" he asked in awe.

"Yes," said Kagome sadly. "Like I said… he's not all bad. Something's changed about him… I don't know what it was for sure but…"

Sota traced the outline of the necklace before reaching up to stroke his sister's face. "I missed you so much."

Kagome smiled as she began to trace Sota's face. "And I've missed you. I've missed you so much that it hurt." They hugged again, and they didn't let go until the sun began to rise.

_*Morning*_

Kagome had listened to Sota talk about what had been going on in the village since she had been in the castle. Of course, she wasn't a bit surprised when she found out that not much had changed… except that her two idiot suitors who have been demanding to know where she had gone. Now she remembered why she hated the village…

"You know," said Kagome as she sat underneath the tree in the front yard with Sota. "I don't know why I'm not dead. I mean when your heart breaks you should die right? I know that you have other organs… but your heart is like a baby or a faithful dog… it just doesn't get it… it just wants…"

"Wants what?" asked Sota trying to understand. "And please don't talk about you dying. I've been having nightmares about you dying for months now.

Kagome shook her head, "It's nothing Sota, and I'm sorry."

"No," responded Sota. "You're hurting inside… I want to know how to help you."

Kagome gave him a grateful smile and put her arm around his shoulder to pull him close. "Thanks Sota. But I honestly don't know what to do anymore."

What they didn't realize was that their mom and grandpa were watching them from the window, both with equal confusion on their faces.

"Good lord," said grandpa. "You think that she'd be happy now that she's been freed. Mind you, I still don't know why that demon would let her go like that."

Mom just shook her head. "Kagome's so much like her father. So unpredictable."

"Ha," said grandpa. "Honestly the way she's acting…" he stopped as if he just realized something. He looked over at her and asked, "Did she say anything usual when you took her upstairs yesterday?"

Mom shook her head, wondering where he was going with this. "No… well she did ask me what it feels like when your heart breaks but…"

"WHAT?" roared grandpa so suddenly that she jumped. He then stormed over and wrenched the front door open. "KAGOME!" he called loudly. His yell had startled his grandchildren so that they leapt up and went running inside.

"What is it grandpa?" asked Sota as they all went into the living room and the siblings sat side by side on the couch and mom stood off to the side with a worried look.

Grandpa ignored what his grandson said while he turned his attention to Kagome, "Kagome? I want to know exactly what happened between you and that demon."

Taken aback, Kagome said to her grandpa, "What are you talking about? Nothing happened. And his name's Inuyasha. Not 'that demon'."

Grandpa waved his hand as if brushing that aside before speaking again, "I want to know what that de… Inuyasha… did to you!"

Totally confused Kagome shook her head and said, "I don't know what you're talking about. Inuyasha didn't do anything to me. He had been good to me. I mean… sure he had a bad temper and we argued but…"

"A bad temper?" grandpa repeated sounding mad.

"Grandpa!" Kagome snapped. "Listen to me! You need to know…"

She then told him and mom everything that she told Sota last night. Once she had finished they stared at her.

"Oh, the poor dear. I feel so bad for him and everyone else in that castle," her mother said and Kagome felt her love for her mother rise.

"Poor dear?" echoed grandpa as he stared at her in amazement. "Even if he's under a curse, that still gave him no right to keep Sota locked up and forcing Kagome to take his place."

"But he's changed grandpa!" Kagome cut across. "And just for the record, **I** volunteered to take Sota's place. Not Inuyasha."

"Why are you sticking up for him?" grandpa demanded.

"I'm just trying to make you see that he's not like this by choice. He's not a monster. I've seen many sides to him that prove that," she said standing up and began walking around the room.

Grandpa rubbed the back of his neck before asking again, "So nothing happened between you two?"

"No…" said Kagome exasperatedly. "I don't know what you mean. He'd been kind to me, but he never hurt me."

_'At least, not when he wasn't under the curse's influence,' _she thought quietly to herself. She didn't think that it would be wise to tell her family that he had tried to attack her more than once.

Her grandpa let out a sigh of relief. "Well," he said, "He can't be all bad if he let brought you home."

"Yes…" said Kagome as she continued to walk around the room. "But I don't understand why he brought me back here the way that he did. I mean… he brought me back without saying goodbye? Or being able to say goodbye to Shippo, Sango and the others. Why did he knock me out the way he did?"

"Well personally," grandpa said sounding slightly smug, "Apart from him punching you… I think that he acted rather wisely. He now understands that you belong here… and he belongs there where he can't do any more harm."

"Grandpa!" both Kagome and her mother said at once. Grandpa raised his hands defensively.

"I merely saying that if he really cared about you, then he would've let you go instead of keeping you locked up inside that castle. He realized that you aren't meant to waste your life away being held prisoner. And now you have a chance to get on with your life and marry someone like Koga or that Hojo lad."

Kagome felt herself getting angry again. "I am **NOT** marrying Hojo or Koga grandpa!" she screamed.

"Grandpa…" began Sota sounding upset, just as his mom spoke up, "I really think that..."

"Now don't start with me," grandpa snapped back at the other two. He turned back to his granddaughter and said, "Now Kagome you know that I love you. But please don't be ridiculous. There is a big difference between the right marriage and having a demon boyfriend."

The other three stared at him; and it was several long minutes before anyone spoke.

"What did you say gramps?" said Sota.

"What are you talking about?" asked their mother.

"Demon boyfriend?" demanded Kagome a little hysterically as she continued to walk around the room with her hands over her head. "A demon boyfriend? Who said that I have a demon boyfriend?"

"Oh, come on Kagome," said her grandfather as he rolled his eyes. "I know that you asked your mother what it feels like to have a broken heart yesterday. And I now understand why you're walking around here with that depressed look. You've been pining to see that Inuyasha again ever since he brought you back. Now, Kagome, that kind of love doesn't last long. You'll get over it soon."

Kagome stopped pacing the room and stared at her grandfather shocked. Love? Did her grandfather just say love? She knew it for some time… but she didn't realize that she needed to hear it out loud for her to finally understand. She looked up at her family with a strange, far-off look in her eyes as realization crashed over her like waves.

They all looked at her in concern at her sudden change in attitude. Her mother came over and put her hands on her shoulders as she began to call her name. Sota took Kagome's hand and stared up at his sister, starting to feel scared; while grandpa took a few uncertain steps towards her.

Kagome finally understood it… love is giving someone the power to destroy you… but… trusting them enough not to… she loved Inuyasha not only for what he is, but for what she was when she's with him. She loved him not only for what he have made of himself, but for what he had changed her. She loved him for the part of her that he could bring out. He brightened her day just with the sound of his voice… he brought so much laughter and love…

She focused on her grandfather.

"Did you just say love?" Kagome asked him as if she was coming out of a daze.

Grandpa looked at her bemused before his eyes widened in horror. As if he just realized what he just said and quickly shouted, "NO!"

"You did," said Kagome as if she hadn't heard what he just said.

"Kagome!" grandpa began as mom and Sota had their eyes darting back and forth between them, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"You're right," went on Kagome quickly as Sota's eyes widened in understanding.

"Don't say it!" yelled grandpa.

"I LOVE him!" said Kagome. And as soon as she said that… she knew that her words were true. Her family stared at her in amazement, not sure what to say. Once Kagome had said those words, she knew what she had to do.

"I have to go back… I have to tell him!" she cried as she ran towards the door. But as she reached for the doorknob, her grandfather grabbed her hand and held her back.

"No Kagome!" roared her grandfather as he tried to pull her back. "You can't love him!" He looked back at mom and Sota. "Guys help me out here!"

Sota walked slowly towards them. What no one knew was that he was thinking about the talk that he had with Kagome right before all this happened.

_*Flashback*_

_"…I swear," Kagome said bitterly to Sota, "If Koga calls me his woman one more time I'll… I'll purify him! Make it so he's nothing but a little pile of ash! And maybe I'll break Hojo's arm or both of his legs. Let's see how his little fan club likes that. Neither of them seems to get it through their heads that I'm NOT going to marry either of them." she went on for awhile until she walked through the front door and took a few deep breaths. Once she calmed down she took Sota into the kitchen and began to take care of his injuries._

_"I'm sorry, Kagome," said Sota sadly._

_"What are you sorry for, Sota?" she asked in amazement. "You didn't do anything wrong."_

_"If I was stronger than I could protect you from them," he said sadly. "I would get them to leave you alone." That alone was enough for Kagome to calm down and said gently, "Sota, you are strong. You're one of the strongest people I know. This has nothing to do with you. It's not your fault that Hojo and Koga are dense. No matter how many times I tell them, they just don't seem to get that I'm not going to marry either of them."_

_Something else seem to bother him though as she finished bandaging up his wound. Suddenly he said, "Kagome, are you sure that you never want to get married? You sure that you would be happy?"_

_"Sota...do you think I should marry Hojo or Koga?" she asked in horror. _

_"No," said Sota quickly. "I just want you to be happy, and I was wondering if you would be happier if you got married." He said this so sincere that she smiled. "Sota," she said gently. "I told you before. If I'm ever to marry, then it's going to be for love. I mean I would like to marry one day, but I'm not going to until I meet the right person."_

_"But how do you know if you've found the right person?" he asked uncertainly. "Well, first of all," she said seriously. "I'm not going to marry Hojo or Koga unless they change. They're both handsome alright, and short-minded, and... oh Sota, neither one of them are for me!" Kagome sighed._

_She finished bandaging up his head before going on, "I don't know who the right person is, but I won't marry unless I love them with all my heart. So you don't need to worry. Until I find 'Mr. Right' I'm happy here with you, mom, and grandpa."_

_Sota smiled has he hugged Kagome. His sister… he loved her… and he knew that she wouldn't marry unless she did find someone who she loved with her whole being… he couldn't wait until she did find that special someone… but at the same time he dreaded it. He wanted his sister to be happy, but it would sadden him greatly the day that she says, 'I do.'_

_*End of flashback*_

His feelings haven't changed about that. He wanted his only sister to be happy… as did their father. He had been waiting for so long that she would find someone that she could love… but now that she had…

He stared long and hard at his sister, as if he wanted to memorize her face, before he said simply, "Be careful Sis."

Grandpa's jaw dropped. Kagome let out a cry of happiness as she ran forward, hugged her brother and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Sota! I love you!" She then ran to her mother, who was crying, (Out of happiness or sadness, Kagome didn't know) and she gave her a hug and a kiss, "Love you mom!" Finally, she ran to grandpa and gave him a quick hug and "Love you grandpa!"

"Kagome wait!" gramps called as she went running out of the house and towards the stable before anyone else could say anything. When she was halfway there, she heard her grandfather yell at Sota, "What were you thinking?"

"Kagome's, got a mind of her own. I can't change it," Sota shouted back.

"But… but… but…" stuttered grandpa.

"Don't be so old-fashioned gramps," said Sota's voice. "Some rules are meant to be broken. Besides… I waited a long time for her to say the words, 'I love him.' I want her to be happy."

**Awwww. Sota truly loves his sister doesn't he? Now that Kagome finally realizes that she's in love, she's going back so that she can tell him! She better hurry though! She only as about 2 days left before it's too late! But as we all know… things never turn out the way that we want to. Someone wicked is nearby…**

**Preview:**

**Kagome was racing towards the forest, hoping that she could find the castle in time. _'I have to tell him!' _she thought to herself. _'I have to tell him what I'm feeling!'_ **

**Just then, she heard a sly voice behind her say, "Hey, gorgeous."**

**Kagome paled at the voice. It was a voice that she had been hoping that she would never have to hear again. She turned around to see not only Koga, but Hojo staring at her—and she didn't like the way that they were staring at her—as if they were hungry.**

**They both came towards her, "It's been a long time sweetheart," said Koga.**

**"Not long enough," snapped Kagome. "What do you two want? I thought that I made it clear that I'm not marrying either of you."**

**"Yes, you did beautiful," Hojo said as they came closer, "But who could stay away from such a rare beauty?"**

**Possible Chapter Names:**

**Save My Broken Heart**

**Second Time Love **

**Keeping a Promise **

**I will always love you… never forget that.**

**Another Chance at Love**


	24. Save My Broken Heart

**Chapter 23- Save My Broken Heart**

Kagome was racing towards the forest, hoping that she could find the castle in time. _'I have to tell him!'_ she thought to herself. _'I have to tell him what I'm feeling!'_

Just then, she heard a sly voice behind her say, "Hey, gorgeous."

Kagome paled at the voice. It was a voice that she had been hoping that she would never have to hear again. She turned around to see not only Koga, but Hojo standing there—and she didn't like the way that they were staring at her—as if they were hungry.

They both came towards her, "It's been a long time sweetheart," said Koga.

"Not long enough," snapped Kagome. "What do you two want? I thought that I made it clear that I'm not marrying either of you."

"Yes, you did beautiful," Hojo said as they came closer, "But who could stay away from such a rare beauty?"

Kagome really didn't like the look in their eyes as she took a few more steps back from them, "I told you to leave me alone."

"Yes you did gorgeous," Hojo said as he grasped her chin, "But I couldn't stay away for too long." Kagome jumped away from the persistent idiot but he grabbed Kagome's chin again and stared at his prize with lust, "You're not getting away from me, not this time."

Kagome looked at Hojo with fright and anger, "Hojo, stop; you're scaring me."

Hojo merely grinned again. Koga on the other hand was looking at Hojo in surprise. Koga wanted Kagome, no mistake about that… but he didn't want to force himself on her like Hojo was doing.

"There's nothing to be afraid of baby; I would never hurt you," Hojo said as he leaned in closer to try to crush Kagome's soft looking lips.

Kagome panicked as she pushed Hojo away from her before Hojo could kiss her and ran off. Hojo just smiled as he took off after the scared girl, "You can run baby, but I'll catch you."

Koga however grabbed hold of Hojo's shirt and spun him around to glare at him in the face. "What's your deal?" he snapped.

For a brief moment, Hojo's eyes changed color, which caused Koga to let go. "What's my deal?" repeated Hojo in a cold voice that didn't sound like him at all. "I want the priestess," and the next thing that Koga knew, was that he was blasted a good 50 yards away, out cold.

"That should keep him busy for a while," said Hojo in a cold laugh as he turned his attention back to the running priestess. A dark smile came to his lips as his eyes changed colors again to a dark red; he then went after Kagome… she had something he wanted… and he would get it.

Kagome ran as fast as her legs could go towards the trees, _'What the heck is wrong with those two?'_ she thought as she forced her tired body to keep going. _'Especially Hojo… if I didn't know better… I would've sworn that…'_ she stopped dead at a giant boulder surrounded by trees.

"Oh no, it's a dead end; what am I going to do!" she cried. Just then, she heard someone else speak, "You can just give up and become mine."

Kagome looked behind her and saw Hojo walking towards her. She clenched her fist, ready for a fight… but when she saw eyes… she froze. The power-hungry red eyes… they weren't human…

She backed up to the cold, brick wall, "Hojo… or whoever you are… don't come near me or I'll scream!"

"No one will hear you Kagome, it's just you and me now priestess," he said in a cold voice that she knew wasn't Hojo's, and he continued to keep walking towards her.

Kagome tried to find another way out, but Hojo was blocking the only way. She quivered as he hovered over her with a lusty gleam in those red eyes. Kagome was never one to ask for help in battle, but those eyes had completely caused her to forget everything she ever knew about fighting or spiritual powers. She really wished someone was here to help her… especially Inuyasha.

Then Hojo grabbed both of Kagome's wrists and held them at the level of his head. The scared girl tried to squirm out of his grasp, but to no avail. As Hojo's hands clutched hers tighter… she realized that this was a superhuman strength. "You aren't Hojo," she hissed as he pulled her closer to him. "Let go of me now!" she screamed as she continued to fight.

"Never again beautiful," the creature that looked like Hojo said as he lowered his lips towards hers.

Kagome felt like she was going to throw up; there was no chance in hell that she was going to kiss him. The way that his lips were coming towards her made her stomach churn; and she quickly twirled a large amount of spiritual power and gave him an electric shock. The Hojo imposter growled in pain as he released Kagome's wrists; one arm had been completely obliterated up to the elbow… but he just looked at it as if he merely broke a nail. Like it was nothing.

Kagome stepped back, and realized that he was a demon, _'Good,'_ she thought as she turned sideways, _'I can handle a demon.'_

The demon stared at Kagome, "Why must you always be so difficult, Kagome?" he asked in a supposedly, sincere tone.

"How dare you do that, you psycho? What kind of demon are you and what do you want from me?" she screamed at him.

The figure grinned as his eyes burned red, "About time you figured it out." The skin on his body began to bubble and melt… his hair began to elongate… his limbs began to grow and shrink… and then

BOOM!

Kagome was flung backwards into a tree. Her head snapped back and she saw stars… she had no idea what hit her but she was able to force her attention back on the demon. There was a cloud of grey smoke surrounding the place where the demon was standing… but little by little the cloud disappeared and Kagome was able to finally get a good look at him.

She couldn't see his face, for he was wearing a cloak-like outfit that looked like a white baboon. But she could hear him giving her a dark and cruel laugh as he gave off a cold aura that was practically pulsing with evil.

Kagome, still dazed, forced herself to get back onto her feet. She had to hold onto the tree for support, but she was able to yell at him, "I'll ask again… Who are you? and what do you want from me?"

The demon's red eyes glared at her from behind the empty eye sockets of the baboon cloak before she heard him speak, "My apologizes… call me Naraku."

"Naraku?" repeated Kagome.

"And for want I want from you Kagome…" Naraku said as he made his way towards her, causing her to take a step back. "Is your spiritual powers."

Kagome, was so dizzy from Naraku's blast that she couldn't get her mind to work straight or her body to fight back. She was about to start screaming…

Until, (and for a moment she thought that she had finally lost her mind) it started to rain hundreds of leaping mushrooms with little eyes.

"What the…?" Naraku yelled out as the mushrooms fell around him, blocking Kagome from his view.

"Kagome!" screamed a voice that she would recognize anywhere.

"Shippo?" Kagome called, trying to see where the little fox demon was. "Shippo where are you? I can't see anything!"

"Down here!" yelled Shippo's voice and she suddenly felt his tiny paw take her hand, "This way!" he cried as he then began to pull her in one direction.

Kagome had to bend down, almost double, and ran blindly, but she was able to follow him out of the storm of mushrooms. Once that they were in a area that was mushroom free, Kagome was able to see again, and she was looking down at a scared Shippo, who was pulling her hand as fast as he could.

"Shippo?" Kagome asked as they ran through some trees. "Where did you come from?"

"Nice to see you too Kagome!" Shippo yelled as they ran, "I came back to get you!"

"But…" Kagome began.

"Ever since you left, Inuyasha's been locked in his room and refuses to come out," Shippo said panting. "I had to go and get you! But we'll talk about that later, who's that guy?"

"I used to think that he was an annoying human who wouldn't leave me alone… but it turns out that he's a demon. He calls himself Naraku!" Kagome cried. But she was secretly thinking about what Shippo said. Inuyasha was locked in his room? Why? Did that mean that he was in pain again? "We can talk when we get back to the castle!" she yelled as she picked up the pace. "I need to tell Inuyasha something!"

"What do you need to tell him?" asked Shippo.

"It doesn't matter," said a dark voice that seemed to come from all around them. Shippo stopped dead and jumped into Kagome's arms in a panic.

"Show yourself!" Kagome screamed out loud. _'Oh, I really wish that I didn't say that,' _she thought.

"As you wish…" said Naraku's voice. The baboon-clad demon was suddenly standing before them, and Kagome could feel herself shaking. "OK," she shouted, praying that she didn't sound as scared at she felt. "What do you want now?"

"I thought I made it clear before," Naraku said in a voice that made her skin crawl. "I told you… I want your spiritual powers Kagome."

Kagome hugged Shippo close to her before she took a step backwards. This was bad… she hadn't used her powers for months… she was out of practice. But she had also noticed something when she destroyed Naraku's arm… her powers had weakened for some reason.

"Yeah well," she said trying to distract him, "You think you can steal my powers without getting killed?"

Naraku just chuckled enigmatically again, "True… under normal situations I wouldn't be able to lay a finger on you without being purified. However…" Naraku turned his head down to look at the still petrified Shippo before continuing, "I know where you've been the last few months."

"What does that have to do with anything?" she cried as she took another step backwards.

"Your powers have weakened considerably have they not?" he asked. Kagome could practically hear him grinning when she didn't say anything. "Well you know what they say?" he said as if trying to be amusing, "Unless you them everyday…"

He took a few steps towards her, and she continued to back away, "Shippo?" Kagome whispered to the small fox demon who looked up at her in confusion. "What?" he whispered, hoping that Naraku couldn't hear them.

"Listen, carefully," she said, continuing to drop her voice. "When I tell you too… run."

"What?" Shippo said a little too loudly. "No way! I can't…"

Kagome put her hand over his mouth. "Listen! Now's not the time to argue. You run back to the castle and get Inuyasha. Tell him what happened and I'll do my best to hold Naraku off, until he gets here."

"But…" Shippo began as Kagome removed her hand from him mouth. Kagome had to quickly cover it again. "The more time you spend here arguing, the less time Inuyasha has to make it here; do you understand?"

Shippo nodded, although he didn't look one bit happy about it.

"When I say go…" she hissed as she stopped walking backwards and prepared to take a stand.

"You honestly think that you have a chance to escape me?" Naraku asked as if it was the most humorous thing he ever heard of.

"I don't plan to keep running," Kagome snapped as Shippo jumped to the ground.

"I see… but do you truly think that can defeat me? Especially with your powers as weak as they are? Or… are you perhaps waiting for that cursed hound to come to your rescue?"

Kagome's eyes widened at what he just heard, _'Damn it. He heard my plan. Oh, please Shippo just run and get Inuyasha… I'll deal with this freak for as long as I can. My powers are sure to come back to their full strength soon… I hope. '_

Kagome gritted her teeth in determination as she stepped in front of Shippo and said fiercely, "My powers may be weak, but I'm not helpless! I can still fight!"

Suddenly, she heard a small gasp. She looked down at Shippo who was looking terrified, "Shippo? Get ready."

"But Kagome!" Shippo started to argue.

"Get away, while you can!" said Kagome, her eyes on Naraku, "And get Inuyasha! I don't know how long I can hold him off!"

"No! I won't leave you here with this monster!" cried Shippo bravely, although he was clinging to the edge of Kagome's kimono as he said that.

"Why you weak little demon… that hurt my feelings," said Naraku.

Shippo's eyes widened and he barked at Naraku, "Did you just call me weak?"

"Well, I don't see any other puny demon around here," Naraku smirked.

"You leave him alone!" Kagome said as she took a step forward. "You're the one who doesn't stand a chance! If you don't want to get killed or purified then this is your last chance to leave!"

The small fox demon stood next to Kagome, but he was shaking from head to toe, "Kagome? I don't want to leave you to face him alone. I'll fight too!"

Kagome smiled as she shook her head, "Right now, what you need to do is go and get help. Please, Shippo… for me."

"How touching." They both turned to see Naraku rising onto large, root-like tentacles with an with evil grin on the lower part of his face and malice shining through the mask. "Too bad it will be short lived."

Naraku laughed at the sight of a weak priestess and an even weaker little demon, "You're siding with these pathetic cursed creatures Kagome? As well as Inuyasha? It doesn't matter because you won't be for much longer." Then the demon hurled a shockwave of demonic energy towards Shippo.

Kagome quickly pushed Shippo out of the attack's path but ended up getting hit in the chest. Those burning, electric waves caused her to be hurled to a tree and fall to the ground in pain. "Kagome!" Shippo cried as he ran to her. "Kagome are you alright?"

"Hmm…" said Naraku in interest. "That was easier than I thought it would be. Her powers really have become so weak in the last few months."

"Kagome? Kagome open your eyes! Oh please Kagome wake up!" Shippo begged as he began to cry.

"Get away, Shippo," Kagome gasped as she fought to stay conscious. "Go and get help!"

"But…!"

"Shippo!" Kagome screamed, "GO!"

Shippo nodded once, and without another word, went running off… tears flowing down his face as he did.

Once he had left Naraku walked over to Kagome and said, "Humans are so easy to manipulate. I knew if I just took aim at the fox, you would try to protect him." Once he was above Kagome, he looked down at her with an evil smile, "Do you wish to know why your powers have gotten so weak?" he asked conversationally.

Kagome's vision was going blurry so she could barely see him. But she still answered, "Why? Do you know?"

"Oh, it's quite simple… when a priestess abandons all other emotions, her powers become unmatchable," said Naraku calmly. "A few months ago, it was impossible for me to get close to you without that pathetic disguise. I was trying to find ways to steal your powers without you noticing… But your heart was very hard back then so you didn't feel much… except for when it came to your family… and look where that got you? Imprisoned within a castle."

"What do you mean my heart was hard?" demanded Kagome. She couldn't think of an instance where her heart was hard… except when it came to dealing with Hojo, a.k.a Naraku, or Koga. So why…

"When you've been unhappy for a long time," Naraku went on as if uninterrupted, "Your heart becomes very hard. You longed to leave the village and find someone who could understand the pain that you were feeling and show you empathy."

Kagome's eyes widen… she didn't want to believe him but…

"Go ahead, Kagome," Naraku said evenly, "Tell me that I'm wrong."

Kagome didn't say a thing, which only caused Naraku to chuckle and ask, "Now do you understand? Your powers have gotten weaker because you have fallen in love with a pitiful half-demon who's under a curse. You love him so much, that your emotions are getting in the way of your powers and now it's almost too easy to take you down. Well, you don't have to worry about him for much longer. Once I'm done with you… I'm going after him."

"You despicable creature, if you hurt one hair on his head I'm gonna make you regret it!" Kagome hissed with tears going down her cheeks, "You're not going to get away with this I…!" But before she could finish her threat, Naraku placed two fingers to Kagome's forehead and sent a shockwave throughout the priestess's body. Kagome screamed… and fell into darkness on the spot.

"About time," Naraku scoffed, "She was getting on my last nerve." He bent down and picked her up. For a moment, he thought that maybe he should just absorb her powers right here and now… but he was given another idea. "Maybe she can get what I want from Inuyasha… I'm sure that he be willing to do anything to get her back… including give me what should've been mine from the beginning."

The demon lifted Kagome onto his shoulder and disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

_*20 minutes later, at the castle*_

"Shippo?" called out Rin who was sitting on the stone steps and looking into the forest. "Where are you? I thought you said you be back by now?"

"Be back from where?" asked Sango's gloomy voice from behind her. Rin jumped around and stuttered, "N-n-nowhere."

"Rin?" Sango asked as she raised her eyebrows.

"Ah… well… see…" Rin whispered shamefully. "The truth is that Shippo…"

"YOU GUYS!" Shippo's voice screamed from the trees. Sango and Rin both looked to see a terrified Shippo streaking towards them so fast that he looked like a flash of orange.

"Shippo?" Rin called happily. "I was starting to get worried and…"

"GUYS HELP!" Shippo called as he ran up the steps and into Sango's arms. "You have to help! Kagome's is… Kagome… she's in…"

"What are you talking about Shippo?" cried Sango as she tried to console the little fox. "Inuyasha took Kagome back home, remember?" although she was happy that Kagome was back with her family, she couldn't hide the bitterness in her voice.

"NO!" Shippo screamed so loudly that Miroku and Ayami both came out to see what was causing all the noise. "Kagome's in trouble and I…"

"What do you mean Kagome's in trouble?" Miroku asked quickly.

"I went to go see her!" Shippo yelled. "I wanted to talk to her but I found her on the edge of the forest and being attacked by a demon! He wanted Kagome and she told me to go and get help! She's in trouble so let's go!"

The others stared at each other in amazement and horror. "Sango? Ayami?" Miroku said taking charge, "You go with Shippo to Kagome! I'll get Inuyasha and we'll follow as soon as we can." Sango nodded, and in a flash, the three of them were racing towards the trees. Miroku turned to Rin and said, "Rin? You stay here ok? Once I tell Inuyasha, he's going to go nuts and no one else will be here to guard the castle. You need to watch the place for us ok?"

Rin looked scared but nodded. "Please bring Kagome back," she called as he went running up the stairs to Inuyasha's room.

"You can bet on that!"

_*Inuyasha's room*_

Inuyasha was staring out at the setting sun. One day… give or take a few hours… that was all he had left. Although with the way that time was passing, it seemed like an eternity. Ever since he returned to the castle, Inuyasha had spent the entire time in his room, just staring out the window. He didn't want to leave his room ever since Kagome was now beyond his reach.

He never told Kagome how he felt about her… he was too worried that he might scare her away. Not just because she was the only person who could now break the curse… he didn't care if the curse caused him physical pain anymore… as long as he was suffering with Kagome nearby. Now he realized that he should have just straight out told her how he felt right from the beginning, before something like this happened. His heart seemed so… empty, now.

Miroku and the others had tried to visit once or twice; he knew that they were afraid of his change in behavior. But he just couldn't bring himself to let them in the room; no matter how long or how hard they banged on the door and yelled his name. He didn't want to hear them talk about how he should go after Kagome.

He had no more hope left. Kagome was the only thing that kept him from losing his mind over the last few months. But now she was gone. And he felt as if there was a big empty space where his heart used to be.

"INUYSAHA!" screamed Miroku's voice as the owner went bursting through the door so hard that the hinges were ripped off, and caused Inuyasha to jump up from his stupor. "Inuyasha! We have a problem!"

It only took a few minutes for Miroku to tell Inuyasha everything that Shippo said. Once he had finished, Inuyasha's face started to match the color in his hair.

Inuyasha felt his blood boiling, as a terror that he never felt before began to take over all his senses, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN KAGOME'S IN TROUBLE?"

**Things are getting serious… the sun is going down, which means that they have around 24 hours left before their time is finally up! This story is finally starting to come to an end. I say 3 maybe 4 more chapters plus an epilogue left to do. Will Inuyasha be able to get to Kagome in time for her to tell him 3 little words? Will he be able to tell her his feelings? Will they finally get that kiss that we've been waiting for? Or will Inuyasha lost control of his demon side and kill until no one is left? And what's the deal with Naraku? The truth can be stranger than fiction…**

**Preview:**

**We spend all our lives building wall within our hearts… in order to keep us safe. But the walls don't work if the enemy is inside us. When you are exposed… when you let your guard down… the enemy shows himself… and it turns out that it is a monster.**

**It is ironic how the thing that we fear the most is the thing that we carry deep within ourselves. **

**"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win," hissed Inuyasha through gritted teeth as blood poured down from his hands.**

**Possible Chapter Names:**

**Running Away **

**I'll find you… No Matter What**

**I've been Waiting for You**

**Mirror Images**

**The Monster in the Reflection**


	25. The Monster in the Reflection

**Chapter 24- The Monster in the Reflection**

"Now, Inuyasha," Miroku said trying to console the fuming half-demon. "You have to try to calm down."

"CALM DOWN?" Inuyasha roared at the top of his lungs. "Kagome was kidnapped by some demon dressed like a monkey, we don't have any idea where she is, and you're telling me to calm down?"

"I understand, Inuyasha," Miroku began, "But flying into a panic isn't going to help us find her! If we stay calm, I'm sure that we can find Kagome before the demon does anything to her."

Inuyasha was hardly listening. He felt his demon blood beginning to boil… his desire to tear something to shreds was almost… overwhelming. His time was just about up. He wouldn't be in control for much longer.

Fighting to stay in his right mind, his face twitching slightly, he barked at Miroku, "Where is she?"

Miroku raised his hands up defensively before saying, "If we knew that, then we wouldn't be looking for her now would we? Shippo, Sango, and Ayame are all out searching for her. Rin and Kohaku are staying behind, and I'm going to go out and search as soon as we finish here. Inuyasha? What are you going to do?"

Inuyasha roared in rage and pain so loudly that Miroku had taken a step backwards. "What the hell do you think I'm going to do?" Inuyasha bellowed as he turned towards the window with the intention of jumping out to the ground. "I'm going to find Kagome no matter what."

"Inuyasha wait!" Miroku cried as he ran forward and grabbed Inuyasha by the shoulder. Inuyasha was filled with so much fury that when he turned to Miroku, he wanted to slash him into pieces. But when he saw the darkened look in Miroku's eyes… he stopped… "Miroku?" he questioned softly.

Miroku looked at him with deadly seriously and said harshly, "Monsters are real Inuyasha. And ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win. Inuyasha… if you truly love Kagome… then don't let the monster inside you win."

He then let go of a stunned Inuyasha before saying, "That is all I'm saying. If you really love Kagome… then you must fight your own fears." Miroku then turned and left the room, leaving Inuyasha momentarily stunned before he remembered that he had to go and find Kagome.

He hit the ground and raced towards the forest in record time. The only thing that was going through his head was prayers that Kagome was going to be alright. _'Please Kagome,'_ he begged with all his heart. _'Be alright. Wait for me Kagome! Wait for me until I get there… Don't you dare die on me!'_

Letting loose a sudden burst of adrenaline, he dashed his way through the forest, trying to find a trace of Kagome… hoping that he would find her in one piece. But he also was searching for the scent of the demon who was trying to take Kagome away.

Running…

He was running… passing scenery… he just kept running as if the devil was at his heels.

He ran on, until finally, he caught hold of that familiar scent! That scent alone, was the only thing that could've stopped him from his mad dash. He followed his nose and stopped right where he thought the scent was strongest, right in the middle of a clearing… the kind of clearing that Miroku said that Shippo described. He bent down on all fours and put his nose low to the ground to take a whiff.

There was no mistake… this was Kagome's scent! Her smell was all over the place… along with another… one that stunk of blood, ash, and… dead bodies…

That stench made Inuyasha's hair curl and made him close to throwing up. There was no mistaking it; this was the scent of the demon who took Kagome. He looked up at the sky, the moon was rising… he only had about 1 day left at the most. He had to hurry.

But when he got up, something happened… a terrible pain had erupted inside Inuyasha's head.

He gasped… the pain so great that he immediately fell face-forward onto the ground. He put his hands on his head, as if to try to keep the pain from causing his head to explode.

He shut his eyes, and gritted his teeth as he tried to fight it. This pain was beyond anything he had ever felt before in his life! All those other times that he spent locked up in his room and curled up in a corner to wait for it all to pass over was NOTHING compared to this.

He felt as if someone had stuck a flaming hot, poisonous spike into his head and it was slowly killing him. He felt wounds beginning to appear in his body, as if someone with a sword was slicing into his body.

He cried out in agony as his eyes snapped open, a mad glint had appeared within his blood-red orbs. His vision darkened… and he could hear voices… no… not voices… just one voice…

… it was Kagome's voice.

_"Please! Just wait!" he heard Kagome scream, "Please! You can take me instead! I'll take his place!" _

What was going on?

_"I don't wanna get to know him! I don't want to be anywhere near him!" _

He heard this all before…

_"Why are you doing this?" he heard his own voice reply. "I thought that you hated me."_

_"And I thought that you hated me," Kagome's voice said calmly. "By the way… thank you. For protecting me." _

He understood what this was… his memories. He could see them now clearly; as if he was reliving them all over again.

_Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a coward," he hissed venomously._

_Kagome shifted her position. To Inuyasha's surprise, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I know you aren't," she said wearily. She sounded exhausted._

He wasn't a coward… he didn't want to running anymore.

_"…Please don't give up on yourself yet," Kagome pleaded softly. "I want to see you free from this curse just as much as you do," she said, laying her hand on his arm. "I've learned in a short amount of time that you don't always get what you want. And if you do get it, it isn't necessarily what you need. You just have to keep going…" She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Inuyasha? How do you break the curse? Maybe I can help?"_

You did help me Kagome… just by being here by my side.

_"Oh thank you thank you thank you so much Inuyasha!" Kagome squealed while squeezing him in a tight hug- but Inuyasha couldn't enjoy it more. He put his own hand around her waist to return the hug, all the while smiling at how happy he made her. _

That was the Kagome that he liked… the smiling one… the one that seemed to brighten his whole world with her own happiness. The same smile that made him smile along with her.

_His ears picked up what sounded like rustling. After a moment Inuyasha had manage to pin point where the noise was coming from and soon found himself outside a bathroom door. He wasn't thinking that it was a bathroom only that he had to find Kagome. That's why it came as a shock to the idiot when he opened the door and was greeted by a naked Kagome's back, who was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, waiting for it to fill._

_'Oh, hell…' he thought to himself as his face began to burn._

He felt his face burn at the memory… yet… he would be lying if he said that he didn't think that she was beautiful that night.

_ "Thank you Inuyasha. Thanks for looking after me," said a sick Kagome._

_When she saw him beginning to blush again, she smiled even wider. They were both quiet for a moment before the effect of the medicine began to kick in and Kagome closed her eyes. She had drifted off to a peaceful sleep with Inuyasha sitting beside her… watching over her._

He remembered how the light from the window had hit her face, setting it all aglow with a shining beauty. He remembered how he thought of her as a pure angel… god this did not sound like him anymore.

_"I… I wanted to thank you for the necklace that you've given to me." She then reached up to touch the necklace that he had given her before continuing, "Sango told me that it was your mothers and I know that it much have meant a lot to you. I went out the other night to gather the things that I needed to make it and I guess that I was out for too long… I guess that was why I got sick… I just wanted to… just take this as a thank you for being so kind to me and, well, saving my life. C…can I?"_

He felt his face burn again as he remember that night in the forest. He felt himself wrap his fingers around the beaded necklace and hold on tightly… this was both torture… and a blessing. Now he could see them in the garden talking about roses…

_Inuyasha looked at the rose that Kagome was staring at before asking. "You mean… that it just wants… that a flower just wants to be… loved? Just like a person?"_

_Kagome looked up at him again, this time with a smile that made the world light up for him. "Yes, Inuyasha. Everything… everyone… all things on this earth… from humans, demons, animals, trees, flowers, heck… even stones… everything just wants to be loved."_

_"But… What if something isn't capable of love?" went on Inuyasha without thinking, "Can they be loved in return? Can they actually learn to care?"_

_Kagome gave him a surprised and confused look. "Why do you think that?"_

Because he didn't know that he could love another. But how could he NOT end up falling in love with Kagome?

_"Because," said Kagome. "There is not a single living creature in this world that is born without a heart; and it's in a heart's nature to care. And if that heart cares for another more than it cares for itself, than its love. You can't have a heart without having the ability to care."_

_Inuyasha turned to look at her. Her back was still facing him as she went back to work, "That's why the rose is a good symbol for love… it needs love to grow… without that… then it would just wither and die. I really don't know how else to put it."_

You need love or else you would just wither and die. That was true… without Kagome in his life; he would end up just withering away until he did die. He didn't see any point of going on with his life, cursed or not, with her out of his reach.

_'You are like a rose Kagome…' he thought. 'Beautiful, but dangerous as well. I can't walk past you without noticing you. You are beautiful as rose petals, but you have thorns that can protect yourself.'_

_"Love is just love Inuyasha; it can never be explained," Kagome went on suddenly. "My mother once said to me you can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel." _

_"What did she mean by that?" asked Inuyasha as he looked over her shoulder at her running her finger around the rose petals._

_Kagome shrugged. "I guess she meant… no one is perfect until you fall in love with them."_

Perfect? No one is perfect. To everyone else, Kagome might not have been perfect, but in his eyes she was. Which brought up another memory:

_"You know… My father once said to me, that you shouldn't push yourself so hard. And that the best things happen when not expected. I mean, look at me. If you let me go that night… we wouldn't be here talking now would we?"_

_"Kagome…You aren't like anyone else I've ever met… how come you aren't like normal girls?"_

_"Inuyasha…" said Kagome quietly. "I learned at a young age… that when you're normal you blend in. And when you blend in… you become invisible. I'm not like other girls because I don't want to disappear… I mean… what's so special about being like everyone else? I think that it's good to be different, even if others don't like it."_

He was glad that she was different. He thought that was the reason why he first fell in love with her… That was who she was:

_"Who you are?" repeated Inuyasha. "What are you talking about? You're Kagome."_

_Kagome shrugged. "I used to think that I knew who I was… but ever since I've arrived here, I don't know anymore. I mean…" she leaned on the balcony railing, "I can't help but shake the feeling like I'm here for a reason… that my coming here was no coincidence."_

_Inuyasha gazed at her as she stared out at the setting sun. Did she really mean that? Or was she just saying it? "I'm not sure that I understand, Kagome," he said._

_"I can't answer you because I don't understand the question either," she turned to look back at him for a moment before she stepped inside again. "I guess what I'm trying to say… is that I'm confused. I just don't know anymore."_

That didn't make any since to him. How can you not know who you were? Then again, he has to fight with his identity on a daily basis. He could feel himself get back onto his feet and felt his body walking in some random direction. He hardly noticed or cared…

All of his attention was on his memories that were rushing back to him like a flood.

_"I want to stay here and help you, Inuyasha," repeated Kagome. "I can't stand the thought of me living somewhere safe and knowing that you'll be here, all alone and suffering. I want to do whatever I can to help you."_

_"But…" started Inuyasha._

_"Don't even try to talk me out of it," Kagome broke in fiercely. "You've been so kind to me… and I just want to help you. I want to help break this curse you're under. I want to be here… with you." She turned her back on him as she said the next part, "Even if I leave… I'll regret it forever. Even if you tell me to try and forget about you Inuyasha… I know that I'll never be able to. So please… just let me stay with you."_

He cared about her more than anything else, and he didn't want to be the cause of her tears, he wanted to be the one that wiped them away. Why did he push her away?

_Kagome raised her head, and walked over to him before she spoke again. "Thank you. For everything." She stood up on her tippy-toes and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, she muttered another quick 'thank you' before she turned and ran into her room._

His cheek burned at the memory of the kiss as he continued to walk forward to who knows where. No… why would someone like her love a monster like him?

_ "A monster?" repeated Kagome scared. "What do you mean a monster?"_

_"Its part of the curse that was placed on me, Kagome," answered Inuyasha sadly. "Once the jewel becomes whole… if I haven't found the way to break it by the time it's completed… I will become a blood-thirsty monster that will know only how to kill…"_

_Kagome had gone deathly pale. She gulped. Inuyasha didn't want to see the look of horror on her face so he went on with his eyes looking over her head, "So… if I can't break the curse in time I want you to leave."_

_"But Inuyasha," said Kagome desperately. "How do we break the curse? Everyone here seems to think that I can help, but I don't have a clue how to. I want to help you… but no one will tell me how!"_

_"You need to break it without realizing it," said Inuyasha._

_Kagome was dazed. She didn't expect for Inuyasha to say something like that. "Please stop speaking in riddles. What is that supposed to mean?"_

_"Just like it sounds like," said Inuyasha turning his eyes back down to meet hers. "If you are the one to break the curse then you need to do so without knowing it."_

_Kagome shook her head, "You aren't making any sense."_

_"I know," said Inuyasha. He sighed, "The point is… if it's too late to save me… then I want you and everyone else to leave the castle and never come back."_

_"But…" began Kagome but Inuyasha cut her off. As he looked at her, he remembered the terrible dreams… how her beautiful face might become scathed and bloody because of him, how he might be the one to make sure that her strong and pure heart would cease to stop beating. "I don't want to end up killing you… any of you guys. Once the jewel becomes whole I won't be myself anymore. I won't be to stop myself. I'm sorry… but I rather that you all leave the castle and living somewhere safely than being here where I might one day kill you." He sighed again before putting his clawed hand on Kagome's cheek. He grinned slightly when he saw her blush. _

_"If it's too late for me," he said softly. "If the curse isn't broken by the end of next week… then you will be free from our deal and will be able to go back to your family."_

_Kagome stared at him in amazement, "You're making it sound like it's already too late."_

_Inuyasha lowered his hand and took a few steps back from her. "I'm just making preparations for the rest of you. Anything can happen in the time that we have remaining. But I just want to make sure that you and the others are safe from me in case it's too late. I want you all to leave before I…"_

Was it too late? He knew that it must be… after all, he knew he only had until midnight tomorrow night to break the curse. There was no way that she could fall in love with him in that little time. Right? It was all over for him.

_"Thank you Inuyasha." said Kagome quietly. _

_Inuyasha shook his head as he stared at her incredulity. "For what?" he asked her confused. _

_"For all the little things…" answered Kagome as she took another step towards him. "Listening to me when I needed someone to talk to… feeding the birds together… showing me that clearing in the forest… for treating me like a person and not just some… prize to be won." She took another step forward until they only stood inches away… their hearts were pounding so fast that they both suddenly seemed to be having trouble breathing._

_Inuyasha sighed. "You're welcome," was all he said. I mean what else could he say to her?_

And you see me in a way that no one else ever had. She saw him as a person, and not just as a monster… but isn't that what he was? Wasn't he a monster? If he was then why does his heart ache so? The pain in his head had finally subsided and he came back to reality. He had come back to the present.

He took several deep breaths before he realized that he was no longer in that clearing, but somehow had wandered near a small creek.

He looked down at his hands to see that they were covered in blood… his blood. He stared at them in confusion before he felt slight pains all over his body. The pain he felt in his head just a minute ago was so intense that when if faded, his whole body felt numb, and he could hardly feel anything at all. He realized that the pain came from the wounds that now covered his body. He felt terrible.

He stumbled to the running water and stuck his head in. _'What just happened?' _he thought as he let the cool water run over him; he was burning up so badly that the water felt like heaven. But all the while he tried to think…

Was this a warning? That his time is nearly up? And why did all those memories come back to him? Just what is happening to him?

Unable to hold his breath any longer he pulled his head out and, for the first time in 7 years, he stared at his reflection.

The last time that he looked into a mirror, was when he first realized what Kikyo had done to him. Seeing the monster that he had become was almost too much for him to bear and he smashed the mirror into pieces.

Inuyasha was staring into the river before him and staring back at him was the hateful demon he had become… but something was different now. He remembered the look on his face from the last time he saw his image in the mirror and the demon who stared back had eyes that were the color of blood, with a lust to kill that matched those eyes. That was a demon who would gladly kill anything it could find, desperate to satiate its unending hunger for death.

But now…

The reflection didn't look like that. His eyes were still red… but they seemed to have toned down from a blood red to the color of a dull crimson and then almost to the color of faded red velvet. The insane madness that was shining from those orbs back then, had faded away to something that Inuyasha almost didn't recognize… pain.

But not the physical kind; all he could see from the eyes of the demon looking at him now, all he could feel was the pain of despair. Fear.

The demon he was looking at…was himself.

_ 'Is that… really me?'_ he thought as he stared back. What caused this change? Then he mentally slapped himself, of course it was Kagome. Who else could it possibly be?

As he looked at his reflection he saw that he looked, it wasn't by much, but he looked less like monster and more like his old self. But was that enough?

_*Flashback*_

_"You remember that day?" asked Kagome. "The morning after the night you protected me? The morning after I found out about your… condition?" Inuyasha hung his head in disgrace. His nightmare still fresh in his head. _

_"And I was tending to your wounds?" Kagome went on. When Inuyasha nodded, Kagome finished by saying, "That morning I realized that I was truly afraid."_

_Inuyasha turned his head away from her so that he could stare at the floor in shame. "You were afraid of me for almost killing you?" he asked knowing the answer._

_"No," said Kagome simply. Inuyasha's head snapped up to stare at her. "But then…"_

_"You did frighten me when you were in your full demon state," Kagome made clear. "But it was the person behind that form that I was afraid for… I was afraid that you were going to die." Neither said anything for another minute. "I don't want you to die, Inuyasha," said Kagome. "I want you to be happy, and I want you to laugh a lot."_

_She lowered her head to look down at her feet, "I don't know what exactly I'll be able to do for you… but I want to help in any way that can."_

_He gently put his clawed hand underneath her chin to raise her face to look up at him. "This is enough," he said softly as they both became lost in each other's faces. "Just being here is enough for me…"_

_*End of Flashback*_

If he truly was a monster… then why does he care? Why did he love her? Monsters aren't supposed to love anything, except for themselves. Does this mean that maybe he wasn't a complete monster?

He stood up straight as he looked up at the fading moon. We spend all our lives building wall within our hearts… in order to keep us safe. But the walls don't work if the enemy is inside us. When you are exposed… when you let your guard down… the enemy shows himself… and it turns out that it is a monster.

It is ironic how the thing that we fear the most is the thing that we carry deep within ourselves.

"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win," hissed Inuyasha through gritted teeth as blood dripped down from his hands.

"I may be a monster… and I may be doomed to remain that way for the rest of my life… but I know that I'll regret it if Kagome doesn't know how I feel before it's too late. Even if she doesn't love me in return, I want her to know that I love her. To be trapped with the curse, or be free of it… Monster or not, I don't care anymore… but I made a promise…"

He took a deep breath and cried out at the top of his lungs, "I VOWED TO PROTECT YOU KAGOME!"

He turned and ran from the rushing water and towards the darkness of the forest. All the while, whispering to himself, "I'll protect you with my life."

_*Flashback*_

_"In that case, I'll protect you with my life."_

_"Inuyasha…" She cut her voice off when the look in his eyes shifted. They no longer looked stern or cold. Only kind, sincere and… loving._

_*End of Flashback*_

There was no way that he was going back on his word now.

**(I know that this chapter was more of a flashback than anything else, but this is important because Inuyasha had to come to grips with the curse and if he truly is a monster. But if he wants to stand a chance against Naraku, then he first has to fight the demons in his heart and to realize that he might have changed.)**

**Only one day left! Hurry Inuyasha! You need to tell Kagome how you feel! Will they make it in time? Or will Inuyasha be doomed to become the monster he always thought he was?**

**Review Please!**

**Preview****:**

**"So what will it be Inuyasha?" Naraku asked with that disgusting smile that made Inuyasha longed to rip off. "Would you still like to fight me? Or will you risk losing the one you love for good? What will it be?"**

**"Inuyasha! Sango hissed to Inuyasha in a panic. "You can't go through with this!" Sango said as she held an unconscious Miroku in her arms. **

**Inuyasha turned to look at her and said, "I don't want to Sango, but if it's to save Kagome then I will. I promised I'd always do anything for her and I'm not going back on my word."**

**Chapter Names:**

**Yes, I know I'm just an outcast.**

**Trouble causes problems**

**A Dream within a Dream**

**Mirrors are meant to be broken**

**Penny for your thoughts? A Wish for Your Soul?**


	26. Mirrors are meant to be broken

**Chapter 25- Mirrors are meant to be broken**

"I may be a monster… and I may be doomed to remain that way for the rest of my life… but I know that I'll regret it if Kagome doesn't know how I feel before it's too late. Even if she doesn't love me in return, I want her to know that I love her. To be trapped with the curse, or be free of it… Monster or not, I don't care anymore… but I made a promise…"

He took a deep breath and cried out at the top of his lungs, "I VOWED TO PROTECT YOU KAGOME!"

He turned and ran from the rushing water and towards the darkness of the forest. All the while, whispering to himself, "I'll protect you with my life."

_*Flashback*_

_"In that case, I'll protect you with my life."_

_"Inuyasha…" She cut her voice off when the look in his eyes shifted. They no longer looked stern or cold. Only kind, sincere and… loving._

_*End of Flashback*_

There was no way that he was going back on his word now. He went racing on through the woods, trying to track Kagome's scent.

_*Ayame*_

Ayame was jumping through the trees, separated from the others and not having any luck at all. She looked up at the sky to see a blood-red sunrise… she didn't like this. Red in the morning… sailors take warning… there was going to be a storm tonight. Appropriate… if they can't break the curse by midnight tonight, then they were going to going to be in for a rough ride.

She was standing on a tree branch over-looking the village and was about to turn around and go back to the others when she noticed someone lying in the field. Gasping, she leapt down from the tree and ran over to the motionless figure in the grass… it was a wolf demon.

And a very handsome wolf demon at that. She bent down and turned him over onto his backside as she stared at his face. She tore the helm of her kimono off and began to wipe the sweat from his face; at her touch however, he stirred.

The wolf demon looked up at her with large blue eyes… Ayame felt her heart melt as she saw the blush come into his cheeks.

"Hi…" she said softly. "My name's Ayame."

The wolf demon blinked several times before he managed to stutter, "I-I-I'm K-Koga."

_*Koga*_

Koga felt stiff and sore all over his body. What the hell just happened? The last thing he remembered was Hojo… wait… who was that touching him?

He could feel someone gently turn him over onto his back and then someone dabbing his forehead with a cloth. His eyes snapped open… to see an angel standing over him.

It was a young wolf demon dressed in white fur, with red hair tied back in twin pigtails. He felt an unfamiliar blush rush into his face when he looked at her. The woman gave him a small smile and said softly, "Hi… My name's Ayame."

Koga blinked several times before he realized that she was talking to him. "I-I-I'm K-Koga."

_*Around Noon. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha had all gathered around each other in the forest*_

"Naraku couldn't have gotten too far with Kagome," said Miroku soothing to a still panicking Inuyasha. "I'm sure that she's still alive! If he wanted to take her powers right away, he would've taken them when he first found her. He must have her hidden away somewhere when he knocked her out and is waiting later to finish her off."

"Oh, yeah!" Inuyasha barked in annoyance, fear, and sarcasm. "That makes me feel SOOO much better."

"Do you think you can talk about Kagome's impending death a little less casually?" demanded Sango of Miroku in a terrified tone.

"Just who is this Naraku anyway?" demanded Shippo. "What is he going to do with Kagome?"

Miroku was the one who answered him, "I've heard stories about Naraku. I don't know how much of it is true… but from what I've heard… Naraku steals the powers of others by devouring them."

Sango and the booys paled at his words.

"Devouring them?" repeated Shippo petrified. "Miroku… do you think Kagome's been…"

"No way. Kagome's a lot tougher than you think. She's not going to let herself get eaten that easily," said Miroku calmly.

But his words didn't seem to calm Shippo down… instead he seemed even more worried. Tears beginning to form in his eyes he cried out, "Oh, this is all my fault. She's probably being eaten alive as we speak. I've shouldn't have left her behind!"

"Shippo!" Sango said hurriedly, giving Miroku a dark look. "I don't think it's too late."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Shippo yelled. "If it's not too much trouble… can we continue the search? We might be able to get to Kagome before Naraku gets hungry."

"What's the rush? She's not going to let Naraku eat her without a fight?" said Miroku without thinking and earning himself more murderous glances from Sango and Inuyasha.

"Oh she'll come back and haunt me for this. I heard the legends and I know how it works!" Shippo screamed as he went running through the trees. "Shippo!" Sango cried after him.

Inuyasha gave Miroku a quick, hard punch on the head as Sango said, "If we live pass this… you, you, you…! What's the word I'm looking' for?"

"Idiot?" Miroku offered helpfully as he rubbed his sore head.

"Thank you Miroku," said Sango as she also gave Miroku a hard hit to the head. Then Sango turned to Inuyasha and yelled at the top of his lungs, "This is all your fault! All because you're too stubborn to tell her how you feel! If you had told her the truth then we wouldn't be in this mess! You've doomed, not only us, but Kagome!"

Her words hurt Inuyasha even more than if she had started punching him. Inuyasha hung his head and clenched his fists so tightly that he could feel more blood dripping down his fingers. Thankfully, Miroku put his hand on her shoulder, and said, "Listen my dear Sango. I understand you're upset about Kagome, but I'm sure that Inuyasha did what he thought was best for Kagome. I'm sure that if he knew that Naraku was out there, he never would've let her out of his sight. Don't worry. I know that we're going to find her. But we won't be able to save her if we're standing around here blaming each other."

Sango glared at him before the rage left her and she began to calm down. She took several deep breathes before she said, "Yes… yes you're right Miroku. It was no one's fault but Naraku's and I know that we're going to get her back."

Kagome turned and walked out of out of sight, but before she did, she called out, "And I'm not your 'dear' anything!"

Miroku gave a goofy grin as he sighed longingly. "Keep kissing those frogs Sango…" he said dreamily, "Your prince will wait forever if he has too." He turned and began to walk through the trees in the opposite direction before he called to Inuyasha, "Are you coming, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha sighed heavily, _'I know that it's all my fault that Kagome's in such danger… but I promise that I'm going to save her even if it kills me,' _he thought before following Miroku, "Alright, just don't get in the way."

"Don't worry pal, I know that she's alive," Miroku said confidently.

"Yes," said Inuyasha a little desperately. "But how do you know? I mean… what if we find Naraku and…" he trailed off, not being able to finish what he his worst fear was right now.

Miroku put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and said, "You, of all people, should be able to tell if Kagome's alive or not. What does your heart tell you?"

Inuyasha stared at him as if he had lost his mind. His heart? He had a heart? That was when he felt this sudden warmth from somewhere inside him telling him that Kagome's own heart was still beating. Was this his heart?

"She's alive…" he croaked more to himself than to Miroku. "Yes, I know that she's alive."

Miroku slapped him on the back and said, "See? You do have a heart down there somewhere. You just needed the right motivation to realize it. Now last I checked we were…" but before he had a chance to finish his sentence, demons suddenly appeared.

Ayame was there… but standing next to her was another tall, male wolf demon. He glanced at Inuyasha with distaste before he said, "Yo."

"Who the hell are you?" demanded Inuyasha. _'Oh, I didn't have time for this! I'm supposed to be looking for Kagome! Not dealing with this pathetic little wolf cub.'_

"The name's Koga," the wolf said. "And I'm here to help you find Kagome."

Both Inuyasha and Miroku stared at him in amazement. "How did…" began Miroku.

"Cause I was there when Kagome was attacked by that fake Hojo," said Koga.

"Hojo?" demanded Inuyasha.

Ayame stepped forward and said, "I found Koga unconscious, and he told me everything. Apparently, he had been trying to win Kagome's heart for years."

Inuyasha felt a deep rage beginning to overtake his senses. This wolf was trying to take HIS Kagome away? He was so angry that he was ready to rip out Koga's throat. "You were there when she was attacked? Why didn't you help her?" Inuyasha demanded, feeling better at the idea of blaming someone else.

"Why weren't you there?" demanded Koga with an angry glare.

That shut Inuyasha up.

Ayame stood between them in case they attacked each other at any moment and said, "Look! It doesn't matter whose fault it was! All that matters is that we have a way to find Kagome!"

"WHAT?" screamed Inuyasha, hope filling the empty space that was inside him.

"Ayame told me what's been going on," said Koga. "She said that Kagome's been living with you guys for the last few months and that you guys are under a curse. She also said that a demon by the name of Naraku was the one who kidnapped her. Well, Naraku was using the disguise of a human by the name of Hojo to get to her. By the time I realized that Hojo was a demon, he hit me with some kind of energy blast… the next thing I know is… Ayame by my side…" he started to blush red along with Ayame.

"I don't want to hear about your personal history!" screamed Inuyasha truly annoyed now. "I just want you to tell me where the hell Kagome is! You better say something if you want to keep your lungs where they are!"

"Whoa… I'm so scared," said Koga sarcastically. "Not! Man are you one serious guy. You need to learn to lighten up once in a while."

"I'll lighten up once I find that no good demon Naraku!" Inuyasha screamed, "Now if you aren't going to tell me where she is then I'm gonna…"

"Well I don't know for sure but I have a pretty good idea where she is," Koga interrupted him. He turned and pointed through the trees. "Up north from here, is an abandoned castle. I heard rumors that it was filled with demons and they were protecting some kind of a castle for a powerful demon. I'm not promising anything… but if I had to guess… then Naraku was the demon that I heard of and they'll be there."

"Okay, what are we waiting for?" Inuyasha yelled as he took off in the direction that Koga pointed. He wasn't sure why he was doing what this wolf was telling him to, but right now it was his only lead to find Kagome. If he could find her… he would swallow his pride just this once. As he went running off, Miroku asked Koga, "Koga… why are you helping us? If you've been trying to win Kagome's heart… then why not go there and save her yourself?"

Koga merely turned away. "Let's just say that I met someone a little while ago who said that me and Kagome weren't meant to be together… I now see that she was right. But if dog boy wants Kagome… then he better hurry." He looked up at the afternoon sky before continuing, "You guys are running out of time real fast."

Ayame then spoke up and said, "We'll find Sango and Shippo and let them know whats going on. You better follow Inuyasha. Something tells me that he's going to be needing all the help he can get."

Miroku nodded once in agreement and went striking after him.

_*Not long later*_

Koga and Ayame found Sango and Shippo. It only took a few minutes to tell them what was going on and that they had to go after Inuyasha and Miroku.

"What about you two?" asked Shippo.

""I'm worried about Kohaku and Rin. They must be wondering what's happened to us by now," answered Ayame.

Koga merely grunted and said to Sango, "Get going girl."

Sango on the other hand did not like being told what to do by this wolf and barked, "You can't tell me what to do!"

"Okay then you won't be able to see Kagome again," said Koga smugly.

Sango opened her mouth, shut it again, before saying in a grudging voice, "You really know how to get to me, don't you?"

Koga smirked, "I know a thing or two about girls."

"What's that mean?" demanded Ayame.

Normally, Sango would've loved nothing more than to stand here and watch someone as arrogant as this Koga get chewed out by the female species. But there would be time for that later. "Let's go!" she cried to Shippo and they were north, leaving the tow wolves to fight behind them.

_*Naraku*_

Deep in the mountains, there was a castle that humans had abandoned many years ago. Naraku discovered it, and made it his home. The entire castle practically screamed 'haunted' and was swarming with hundreds of demons. "Yes," said Naraku with a slight chuckle. "Go and devour any who try to reach this place."

The demons didn't need to be told twice. They left, heading down the mountain, their mouths drooling at the thought of being able to devour fresh meat. Naraku wasn't worried about Inuyasha reaching him. No, he was more curious than anything else. He wanted to see just how far that Inuyasha would go to reach the woman that could break the curse.

Naraku smiled at his prize. Kagome's wrists were being held by thick chains which were held by a single metal ring at the wall. "At last, I have all this power to myself." He calmly walked over to her, where she looked up at him in disgust.

"If you're going to kill me…" she hissed menacingly, "Then just get it over with already!"

Naraku chuckled again. "I was planning too. But in order to get what I want from Inuyasha, I need live bait. Don't worry… I will kill you soon. But if you're already dead by the time that Inuyasha arrives… then he'll be less willing to listen don't you think?"

Kagome gasped as she fought against the chain, "What do you want?" she demanded. "What are you planning to do to Inuyasha?"

Naraku turned and took a few steps away from her before saying as calmly as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm going to kill him of course." He then walked away, with a giant smirk on his face when he saw the look of horror on Kagome's.

"I will devour you and your powers… but in the meantime…" said Naraku slowly. At that moment, he flew over to her, until he stood right above her. A slimly, filthy tentacle came out from underneath his baboon pelt and wrapped around Kagome's neck, lifting her up into the air.

"Don't worry," said Naraku with a grin as Kagome fought for breath. "I'm just borrowing some of your powers. Once I get what I want from Inuyasha, I'll finish you off."

Kagome felt as if all of her energy was being sucked out of her body and she felt darkness covering her eyes. "You won't get away with this," she croaked out as she felt weaker with every passing second. "Inuyasha will… he will…"

Naraku dropped her and she slumped against the wall in defeat and exhausted.

"Inuyasha will what? I'm afraid that he won't dare do anything… after all… I have the one thing that he loves more than his own life. As long as I have you… then he won't dare do anything that would put you in danger."

_*Inuyasha*_

An hour or so later, after Sango and Shippo were finally able to catch up to the boys, they all found themselves at the foot of the mountain.

"Doesn't look too tough," said Shippo as he took a step forward but just then, they all heard the sound of buzzing. Shippo let out a cry of terror as he held on to Miroku's leg in a death grip. "Um did you guys hear that or was that just me?"

"Yes I heard it," said Mirokou as he looked around him. "Naraku must've summoned 'them'."

"Summoned what?" asked Sango, standing next to Miroku.

"I'm pretty sure 'they'll' clear it all up for you, Sango," Inuyasha said pointing up the mountain. They all watched as an entire army of demons came streaking down the mountain towards them, lead by a swarm of giant insects with red eyes and stingers.

Shippo quivered in fright and disgust before he stuttered, "W-w-w-what a-a-re-are t-those?"

"Poisonous insects from hell," Miroku explained. "The Saimyoushou."

"Shippo, head for safety," Miroku said to the red head as he went charging forward.

"You ain't gotta tell me twice," Shippo said as he went and hid behind some giant rocks.

The army of bugs and demons encircled Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango. Inuyasha smirked showing his fangs, "You guys know what we have to do?"

The other two nodded before they chorused, "Of course." Unfortunately, for the demons, they picked the wrong day to mess with Inuyasha. He went up the mountain, his demon blood roaring in joy at the sight of killing all the other demons. Inuyasha's mind on the other hand was still clear, for the only thing that he was going through his head was to tear Naraku limb from limb, and to see Kagome again.

_'Just one more time!' _he thought as he sliced off another random demon's head. _'I just want to see her one more time! To tell her how I feel. I don't care if I die! I just want to get her out of there and to tell her that I love her. I don't care if she doesn't feel the same towards me! I just want to tell her!'_

Thanks to Inuyasha, the gang had arrived at the castle in no time and they were standing just outside the gate. Inuyasha glanced around him, he took a deep breath… and he found it. He found Kagome's scent! She really was here!

"Kagome is definitely here," he said to the others. "I know it."

"And so is Naraku," said Miroku. "But I sense that his power has increased somewhat… I can't tell why."

"Who cares? He has Kagome. That's all that matters," Inuyasha stated as he ran in with Sango and Miroku following after him and Shippo on his shoulder.

_*Naraku*_

As Naraku was awaiting a good report, one of his Saimyoushou appeared. "I see…" said Naraku coldly. "Inuyasha is even more determine to get his girl back than I would've guessed. The demons didn't stand a chance against him in his demon state. I guess if you want something done right, do it yourself."

_*Inuyasha*_

"Hey Inuyasha, how much further till we find Kagome?" Sango asked as they kept running.

"We're almost there; she's close now," said Inuyasha said, running through a courtyard. As they were running, Inuyasha picked up Kagome's scent again, closer than ever before.

"Hey guys, look over there!" Sango said pointing to one side of the courtyard.

Inuyasha, Shippo, and Miroku turned to where Sango was pointing and saw Kagome hanging by her wrists in chains with her eyes closed. "Kagome!" Inuyasha cried as he ran over to her with the others following him.

Inuyasha was the first one to reach her, "Kagome… Kagome, c'mon please wake up!" he cried as he shook her, but she didn't reply, she didn't even move. Inuyasha turned to Miroku and pleaded, "Is she okay? What's wrong with her?"

Miroku came over and put his fingers over Kagome's neck to check her pulse. "She's alright Inuyasha; she's just unconscious," Miroku informed them. Inuyasha and the others let out a sigh of relief.

"Good she's safe," said Inuyasha feeling himself filling with happiness to know that Kagome was alright.

"Oh, she's alive alright," said a malevolent voice behind them. "But she's far from safe."

They all spun around to stare at the one who had caused all of this… A demon dressed in the skin of a white baboon…

Shippo let out a scream of terror as he jumped to Inuyasha's shoulder yelling and pointing, "That's him! He's Naraku!"

Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah. And right now… HE'S DEAD!"

"Oh please Inuyasha," said Naraku shaking his head as if disappointed. If you were capable of doing that, you wouldn't have let that human get kidnapped."

The crimson eyed Inuyasha could feel his rage rise as Sango stepped in, "Look, I don't give a damn who you think you are buddy, but you better let my friend go right now or else."

Miroku stepped in as well, "Listen Naraku, why don't you deal with me now? Kagome isn't your concern; now let's get on with your demise."

Naraku then said, "My demise? Please… you can't even save yourselves… what makes you think you can save your friend?"

And without warning… Naraku sent an energy blast towards Miroku who didn't move away in time and was thrown up against the wall. He slid down the wall with blood dripping down the side of his face; unconscious.

"MIROKU!" screamed Sango as she ran over to him.

"DAMN YOU!" screamed Inuyasha in pure fury at Naraku. "DAMN YOU TO HELL!"

"Well Inuyasha, if you want to save your friends, then come at me. But let's raise the steaks, shall we?" the demon offered.

"Don't test me, Naraku; I'm not in the mood," snarled Inuyasha in fury. "Just let the others go and fight with me!"

"Relax Inuyasha; it's just a friendly wager," said Naraku in a pleasant voice.

"Inuyasha," hissed Shippo in his ear. "He's just trying to make you mad."

"Don't worry," Inuyasha hissed back. "I'm not going to go all demon if that's what you're worried about."

"Worried?" repeated Shippo. "No, I'm hoping for it!"

Inuyasha chose to ignore him. "What is it?" he demanded from Naraku.

"That's the spirit!" said Naraku. "If you by some miracle defeat me then I'll be more than happy to let Kagome and the rest of your friends go."

"What do you want if you win?" Sango asked.

"Well I keep Kagome's powers… and the rest of you here…" Naraku said pointing to each one of them in turn before saying, "Will all be doomed to live the rest of your lives in misery knowing that you can never become human again."

"Over my dead body," Inuyasha screamed his anger rising too high now.

"Inuyasha calm down!" Sango screamed.

"So what will it be Inuyasha?" Naraku asked with that disgusting smile that made Inuyasha longed to rip off. "Would you still like to fight me? Or will you risk losing the one you love for good? What will it be?"

"Inuyasha! Sango hissed to Inuyasha in a panic. "You can't go through with this!" Sango said as she held an unconscious Miroku in her arms.

Inuyasha turned to look at her and said, "I don't want to Sango, but if it's to save Kagome then I will. I promised I'd always do anything for her and I'm not going back on my word."

He took a few steps towards Naraku and said, "I don't care if I'm going to remain this way forever. I don't care anymore if everytime I look in the mirror... I see myself like this. I know now... some mirrors are meant to be broken."

**Time is almost up! Just a few hours left! Inuyasha must now fight Naraku who had Kagome' powers! And if he loses… then they'll be doomed forever… Inuyasha hurry please!**

**Review Please!**

**Preview****:**

**Inuyasha was left barely standing, heavily breathing, "My time is up…" Then Inuyasha's exhausted body became heavy and his vision became blurry as he fell to his knees, "For you Kagome; I'm sorry I broke my word but it was the only way to…" Inuyasha fell to the ground lying as if he were dead.**

**Chapter Names:**

**In your eyes I am beautiful**

**Love like this is a miracle**

**'Cause you saw me when I was invisible **

**You see me in a way that no one else ever had**

**Lie Still My Love**


	27. In your eyes I am beautiful

**Chapter 26: In your eyes I am beautiful**

"Inuyasha! Sango hissed to Inuyasha in a panic. "You can't go through with this!" Sango said as she held an unconscious Miroku in her arms.

Inuyasha turned to look at her and said, "I don't want to Sango, but if it's to save Kagome then I will. I promised I'd always do anything for her and I'm not going back on my word."

"Inuyasha, are you crazy? What if you lose? What'll happen to us then?" Sango panicked.

"Relax Sango, I'm not going to lose to a jerk like Naraku," Inuyasha replied surprisingly calm. "Listen don't worry about me; you and the others get Kagome out of those chains."

"But Inuyasha…" began Shippo.

"Look, don't worry about me, I'll handle it. Now let's get this over with alright?" Inuyasha said a little annoyed.

Sango, and Shippo both looked at each other; they didn't like it… but they agreed.

"Okay. But Inuyasha you be careful out here," the fox demon said quietly.

Inuyasha nodded, "I will; take care of Kagome for me." And before anyone else can stop him, he went running onto the battle field with Naraku.

Naraku smirked at how angrily Inuyasha was glaring at him. Then he noticed that the others were all going to Kagome's aid. The demon merely shook his head, "Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha, you soft-hearted demons are all alike; in the end your heart will be your own undoing." The demon snapped his pale tanned fingers and a pink wall that seemed to be made of some kind of energy formed around him and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha jumped slightly at the wall appearing out of nowhere before it quickly turned to anger. "What's the meaning of this, Naraku?" Inuyasha said observing the wall enclose them.

"It's just something to make sure your friends are kept out of our fight," Naraku said evilly as Inuyasha started swearing at him at the top of his voice.

_*Outside*_

"So even if he could defeat Naraku, he can't escape?" Sango asked Miroku, who had woken up finally.

"It would appear so," Miroku began, "Naraku's barriers are too strong for demons to escape from. Only a strong emotion can break though this. He's making sure he and Inuyasha finish this fight to the end."

"C'mon Miroku, let's get Kagome out of these chains now," said Shippo who was tugging hard on the chains around Kagome's wrists.

"I don't think so," Naraku's voice sounded from out of nowhere. Inside the wall, Naraku's eyes grew red and more demons emerged from the castle and headed in their direction. When Sango and Miroku saw them coming closer Sango stood up and said sarcastically, "Oh you have got to be kidding me…"

Miroku stood up, swaying slightly, from his injury. "I'll take care of these lowlifes, my dear Sango. You and Shippo go and release Kagome from those chains," the pervert said charging straight for the demons before Sango could disagree. Sango felt tears begin to form as she watched the most important person in her life go charging after the demons, and she wished that she was by his side. But instead, she gritted her teeth and when to Kagome.

Sango reached for the chains to try to unhook them from the wall but to no avail, "Why did he have to tie Kagome with chains?" demanded Shippo a little hysterical. "What's wrong with just using ropes these days?"

_*Inside the wall*_

Inuyasha eyed Naraku with anger, "You are going to pay, Naraku."

Naraku only smirked as he said, "I'd love to see you try to collect."

In a burst of anger, Inuyasha's claws elongated and he went charging, aiming his claws straight at Naraku's heart.

Naraku smirked as he stood there not defending himself as the attack hit him and chunks of flesh went flying everywhere. Inuyasha stared in confusion as Naraku merely smiled, _'What's happening? That attack would've killed a demon… but he's acting like he just got a paper cut or something!'_

"It's quite simple," said Naraku as if he had just read Inuyasha's mind. "No matter how many times you destroy my body… I will always come back."

Oh crap.

"Keh… so what? I'll find a way to take you down sooner or later," snarled Inuyasha, sounding more like a dog that himself by the minute.

Naraku smirked, "You better hope that its sooner then. Because you only have until midnight tonight to break the curse… which should be in about… 1 hour?"

_*Outside*_

Miroku destroyed most of the demons with his staff, but every time that he had taken one demon down, two more popped up in their place_, 'This is getting ridiculous.' _he thought. He then turned an yelled over his shoulder, "My dearest! You need to hurry, I don't how much longer I can keep this up."

"Damn it," shouted Sango as she continued to try to free Kagome. "What's up with these stupid chains?"

After a couple more seconds, the chains holding onto Kagome had finally broken and Kagome fell into Sango's lap. Sango then called, "Miroku, I got the chains off!"

Miroku nodded to her as he formed a barrier to the block the way of him and the demons. Without knowing what the barrier can do, the demons attacked the barrier and were instantly purified. Miroku smirked, "That should do it for now."

He then went running over to his friends, who were trying to wake Kagome up, "Kagome, Kagome, Kagome c'mon, wake up please!" Shippo shouted, but the priestess didn't reply. Sango then patted both of Kagome's cheeks several times, "C'mon Kagome, rise and shine; this is no time for a nap!"

Chocolate-brown eyes slowly opened and saw the other 3 pairs of eyes looking down at her, "Sango, is that you?"

Sango let out a sigh of relief as she nodded, "Yes, Kagome it's me. Thank God you're awake. Kagome are you okay?"

Kagome nodded slightly as she sat up and rubbed her head, "Yeah I think so; what's going on here?"

"It's a long story Kagome; but we can explain later," Miroku answered as Shippo jumped into Kagome's arms to give her the biggest hug he had ever given; he cried out her name, so glad to see that she was alright.

Surprised, but happy at the same time, she returned the hug and said, "I'm fine Shippo. I knew that you would come through for me."

As Kagome turned to the others, she noticed the giant wall and her eyes widened. "Miroku, what's going on?"

"Let's talk about that after we get out of harm's way," he said as he tried to help her to her feet.

Then Kagome realized something, "What about Inuyasha; is he okay? Where is he? Why isn't he here?"

The other three looked at each other… wondering what to tell her.

"Well…" Sango began, "He's alright but right now he's fighting with Naraku. You see that wall? They're trapped inside that barrier… and…"

"We have no idea what's happening to them!" shouted Shippo.

Kagome gasped and she looked at the wall in front of them, _'Inuyasha,'_ she thought.

_*Inside the wall*_

Inuyasha was staring at Naraku in pure horror. Did he just hear him right? Did he just say that he only had an hour left before his fate was sealed?

No… this couldn't be… yet… he knew it was true.

But who cares anymore?

"Keh. SO WHAT? I DON'T CARE ANYMORE. WHAT HAPPENS TO ME ISN'T IMPORTANT. ALL THAT MATTERS IF IS I RIP OUT YOUR DAMN THROAT BEFORE MY TIME IS UP!"

He went charging again, but he wasn't aiming for Naraku… no he was aiming to take down the wall.

"IRON-REAVER, SOUL-STEALER," he screamed at the top of his lungs, and this time, he broke through the barrier as if it were made of paper.

The first thing he saw when he broke free… were Kagome's eyes staring at him.

_*Outside*_

Kagome was shocked to suddenly see Inuyasha. First there was a giant wall… and the next thing that she knew… he was there.

As soon as she saw him… as soon as she saw that he was alive… she felt her eyes tear up. "Inuyasha?" she whispered quietly. _'Thank goodness he's alright; I don't know what I'd do if something bad happened to him.'_

With Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all behind her, she went running into Inuyasha's arms. "INUYASHA!" she screamed. She then thought, _'I don't care if he is under a curse. To me… he's beautiful… I don't care what anyone says.'_

When she reached him, he surprised her by pulling her towards him and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry!" Kagome mumbled into his front, "It's all my fault! Naraku took so much of my powers and he's using them to hurt you! Please believe me! I didn't…"

"It's ok," Inuyasha said as he breathed in the sweet scent that he was so sure that he would never smell again.

Inuyasha felt like he wanted to stay like that forever… heck, if he died now, he would die happy. But he had more important matters. So, unwillingly, he pushed Kagome back and said, "Kagome listen to me, you, Shippo, and Sango have to get out of here now; Miroku will go with you."

"B-but what about you, Inuyasha?" Kagome cried as she reached over and grasped his arm, not ever wanting to let go.

"Don't worry about me, Kagome," Inuyasha began, "If you don't leave now, you may get hurt and I can't bear that."

Kagome shook her head, "NO! I'm not leaving without you; I don't want to lose you!"

Inuyasha gasped for a brief second then gave a small smile, "Kagome, I promise you I'll be fine now hurry and get out of here."

"But…"

"Kagome c'mon let's get outta here now," Sango said as she began to pull her back, "Inuyasha can handle this."

"But Sango, we can't…"

"Kagome," Miroku interrupted, "Don't worry, Inuyasha can handle anything Naraku throws at him. His major priority is to make sure you're safe."

"But… but I have to tell you something Inuyasha," Kagome croaked out. "I-I needed to tell you that I…"

"You can tell me after I beat Naraku. Now get out of here!" and without waiting for another word, he went charging back into battle.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed as she took a step to follow him, but she felt 3 pair of hands stop her and hold her back. Kagome sighed, "Alright, I'll go." Then she turned to Inuyasha with a worried look in his eyes, _'Good luck Inuyasha and please be careful.'_

"It's going to be ok," Miroku said as he lead them through the gate and called to Sango, "Let's go my love!"

"I'm coming guys!" Sango called out, "And I'm not your… oh never mind!"

_*Inuyasha*_

Inuyasha blew a sigh of relief when he saw Kagome and the others had escaped… that is until he heard Naraku chuckled darkly. The half-demon turned to Naraku with an angry glare, "What's so funny, Naraku?"

"That you're going out of your way to protect that little girl. You and your servants are actually showing sympathy for those lowly creatures called humans; it's pathetic."

"More pathetic than taking the powers of others so that you can get stronger? I don't think so," Inuyasha said as Naraku growled at him, "What we feel for those humans is none of your concern, but no one is going to insult Kagome when I'm around!" Then Inuyasha leapt up to try to slice Naraku into pieces.

Naraku dodged the attack with ease, "Well, well Inuyasha. Could it be that you actually love that human?"

"Keh, So what if I do?" the crimson eyed half-demon asked.

Then Naraku fired his energy shockwave at his opponent as the other dodged it, "It doesn't matter; you won't be around to ever see her ever again."

Inuyasha kept dodging Naraku's shocking attacks as they were fired_, 'I can't keep up this instant dodging for long; if I don't do something soon, it could be the end.' _Then at that instant, Naraku disappeared from view. Crimson eyes looked in every direction, _'Where did he go?'_

As he looked, a dark shadow hovered over him. Inuyasha looked up to see Naraku about to fire another shockwave of energy. But as Inuyasha tried to dodge, the attack hit his shoulder. Inuyasha cried in pain as electrical volts shot through his body. The pain was so excruciating that he couldn't feel any other nerve in his body.

Naraku laughed at the other's pain as Inuyasha fell to the ground. Inuyasha's clothes were tattered with cuts all over his body and some electrical bolts firing from his body, "That was easy; it appears you're letting your guard down Inuyasha. If you want to survive this day and save that human, you'll have to do better than that."

Inuyasha slowly rose to his feet, blood trickling from the side of his mouth and feeling as if the pain was going to make him pass out, "Oh, I will defeat you Naraku; you can be sure of that."

"Inuyasha, you're still continuing this fight even though it's pointless; what a shame. Make this easier on yourself and give in and I might make your suffering less painful."

Inuyasha smirked, "Thanks for the offer, but I rather die than surrender to the likes of you."

Naraku frowned, "I'm losing my patience with you; if you want to die a fool then fine, but I'm not going down with you!" Then the demon fired his largest shockwave of all, "It's time to finish this once and for all!"

_'I'm sorry Kagome, I know I promised you I would be alright but this attack is my only chance of destroying him.'_ Then a crimson aura enveloped Inuyasha, _'I don't know if I'll survive this ordeal, but at least you'll be safe.' _Then his crimson eyes turned pale white and using his last bit of strength fired a blast of crimson energy just as strong as his opponent's.

Naraku smirked, "I'm not too worried; our demonic auras are equal there's no possible way you'll have the strength to defeat me."

The electric wave was pushing back Inuyasha's energy, _'Damn it, I'm running out of strength and his is as strong as ever. At this rate all I can do is stand by and watch everything go wrong!'_

At that moment, he heard a familiar sweet voice in the back of his head say, _'Inuyasha, don't give up; please I know you can beat him. I believe in you! My strength… take it… take it before it's too late!'_

_*Kagome*_

Kagome and the others were standing right outside the castle and Kagome was kneeling down with her hands clasped. It was a spell that she had learned a long time ago, but was told never to use it unless she had no other choice… and that was to temporary give her spiritual powers to someone else.

_'Inuyasha,' _she thought as she felt whatever was left of her powers leave her,_ 'Don't give up; please I know you can beat him. I believe in you! My strength… take it… take it before it's too late!'_

_*Inuyasha*_

_'Kagome; I may not have enough strength alone go defeat Naraku, but…' _Inuyasha thought as he felt his life beginning to fade.

He then cried out, "NARAKU! You'll never defeat me! I have someone I must protect no matter what the cost." Then a new kind of energy was infused with his demonic aura. At first, he couldn't understand where all this power was coming from… but then he realized… Kagome…

She was giving him her powers…

Which meant there was no way he was quitting now.

Naraku noticed Inuyasha's sudden increase of energy, '_What's going on? How did he get stronger all of a sudden? Wait that's Kagome's spiritual energy! How is this possible?"_

Then the demon felt his energy being pushed back at full force, "This is impossible; I can't go out like this, not to some weakling!"

"Well deal with it bastard; this attack will be rid of you once and for all!"

"You do realize this attack could take both of us out don't you!" Naraku cried.

"Yes, and I don't care as long as Kagome survives!" With one push of his energy, Inuyasha fired an extreme attack which hit its target on contact.

The demon cried in pain at the attack's power as the pain ripped through his body. "No, this can't be; I was so close to defeating him. I can't…" was Naraku's final cry as he was destroyed when the attack subsided.

Inuyasha was left barely standing, heavily breathing, "My time is up…" Then Inuyasha's exhausted body became heavy and his vision became blurry as he fell to his knees, "For you Kagome; I'm sorry I broke my word but it was the only way to…" Inuyasha fell to the ground lying as if he were dead.

**Oh, I am evil. XD Only one more chapter... and the ****epilogue left! Thank you for your patience. But well Inuyasha survive? Will Kagome tell him the only 3 letter words that will set them all free? Let's find out!**

**Preview:**

**"Do you really love me Inuyasha?" Kagome said as tears fell down her face.**

**Inuyasha raised one of his clawed hands and he brushed her cheek free of tears so gently that it wouldn't harm a soap bubble. "More than life itself…"**

**Inuyasha let out a shuttering gasp and his eyes closed.**

**Review Please!**

**Chapter Names:**

**Surreal **

**The Picture in My Dreams **

**The Magic of Love **

**Second Time Love **


	28. The Magic of Love

**Chapter 27: The Magic of Love **

Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were all waiting outside the castle for the outcome of the battle; half-expecting the victor to come through the gate with triumph. Kagome had to be supported by the others because she had given her strength, her powers to Inuyasha to help him in this battle.

"It's really quiet… think we should go and see if it's a good or bad thing?" Sango asked after a while of silence.

"I guess it's a good thing because I don't sense Naraku's presence anymore," Miroku answered looking uneasy.

Kagome stared at the ruins of the castle with a worried look on her face, _'Something's wrong I know it. Inuyasha hasn't come out yet. I hope he's not…' _

Kagome couldn't take it anymore and ran through the destroyed gate.

Miroku called after her, "Kagome, NO Stop! Don't go in there alone! Wait up!" but Kagome kept going, not looking back once.

"We have to go after her!" Sango cried as she went running after her friend. "Kagome come back!"

Miroku then went running after Sango yelling out, "Sango come back!"

Shippo blinked several times before he went running after them screaming, "EVERYBODY! COME BACK!"

Kagome kept running, pass the gate and through the courtyard, trying to find any trace of Inuyasha. _'Inuyasha, please be alright!'_ she thought in a panic looking everywhere. After a few minutes of desperate searching, she saw Inuyasha lying face-down in the dirt just a little bit away from Naraku's body.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed as she ran over to him.

Sango and Miroku arrived on the spot and saw the battle damage, "Oh man," Sango began staring around them, "It looks like an explosion happened here. Everything either been smashed to pieces or completely destroyed."

Then she saw Miroku hovering over Naraku's still body, "Miroku?" she asked cautiously. "Is he…?"

"He's dead," was Miroku's simple reply.

Sango let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."

Miroku turned to her and took her hands in his own, "Sango?" he said seriously. "Thank goodness that you're safe."

Sango blinked and began to blush a deep red as she turned her head away. "Of course I'm safe… I mean… why wouldn't I be?"

Suddenly, Miroku pulled on her arm until she crashed into his chest and he hugged her tightly. "I mean it," he whispered. "I don't know what I would've done if something ever happened to you."

Sango blushed as he stared at Miroku's face, _'Why does he always do these things to me?'_

"Because I simply adore you, my dearest," the Miroku said in a loving tone as if he just read her mind.

Sango turned to the side blushing like crazy, _'He gets on my nerves so bad,'_ then she smiled, _'Yet I can't help but like him.'_

At that moment they both heard Kagome shout, "Inuyasha, wake up please!"

They snapped out of their little world, remembering why they were here. The both ran over to Kagome who had Inuyasha's head on her lap and was trying to wake him up but to no avail, "Inuyasha, c'mon you have to wake up!" she pleaded.

_*At the Castle*_

"So… that's how I defeated that troublesome bear demon," Koga was saying to Ayame who was staring at him all starry eyed.

"Wow Koga…" she whispered in a dreamy tone. "You're amazing."

Just as Koga gave her a wolfy grin, they heard Rin's voice call out, "AYAME! COME QUICK!"

They both turned to see Rin standing on the top of the staircase, looking scared. "Please hurry! We're in trouble!"

Ayame stood up and said worriedly. "What is it?"

"THE JEWEL!" Rin shouted before she turned and ran back up the stairs.

Koga cocked his head in confusion. "Jewel? What jewel? Ayame?"

Ayame's face had gone ghostly white.

"Ayame, what's wrong?" Koga asked grabbing her shoulder and giving her a slight shake.

"OH NO!" she cried as she went running after Rin. Koga blinked stupidly for a second before he came back to his senses so that he could follow them.

_*The battlefield*_

Sango squatted down next to Kagome with a sad look on her face, "Kagome?" she said in a gentle and comforting way, "I think he's…"

"No Sango, he can't die! He just can't!" Kagome cried with tears falling down her cheeks. Then she turned to the seemed to be dead half-demon, "Please Inuyasha, you can't die! I… I…" she couldn't finish through her sobs.

Sango tried to comfort her friend as Miroku stared sadly at Inuyasha's lifeless body, _'Inuyasha,'_ he thought shaking his head. '_Is this what you wanted to happen? How could you be so…?' _

But then the pervert noticed Inuyasha's fingers twitch slightly just when Sango did; she looked up at him in wonder.

As Kagome wept into his chest, she suddenly felt a warm hand gently touched her cheek. Then a rough but weak voice said, "K-K-Kagome?"

Chocolate-brown eyes widened at the voice. Kagome raised her head to looked down to see rich crimson eyes looking back him and a smile gracing his lips, "Inuyasha, are you really… okay?"

Inuyasha closed his eyes as he struggled for breath, "I've… been better."

Kagome looked at the others and said, "Come on! We've got to get him some help!"

"No," Inuyasha said taking her hand. "Don't bother. I'm not… not much longer for this world."

Kagome shook her head, refusing to believe it. "NO. Shut up! Don't talk like that!"

"But it's true…" Inuyasha said as he gasped in pain. "I used up too much strength…"

"Inuyasha, stop talking like that right now! We're gonna get you home and you'll be fine you hear?" Kagome shouted as she buried her face into his shirt again. As she cried, Inuyasha placed a hand on her head and began to stroke her hair in a soothing way. He looked at Sango, Miroku, and Shippo with a sad look that clearly said, _'Can you leave us alone for a moment?'_

Sango was about to refuse when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Without even bothering to look at him, she allowed Miroku to guild her to her feet and away so that they could give them both some peace. "Come on, Shippo," Miroku said calmly.

"But…" Shippo began as who looked from them, to Inuyasha and back again.

"G-go on, Shippo," whispered Inuyasha with what little glare he managed to muster. Shippo whimpered but left with the others, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha alone.

Kagome continued to cry. "No, Inuyasha. You're so stupid! How could you do that? Why did you do it? What am I supposed to do with you gone?"

"It's alright Kagome, don't cry over me anymore," Inuyasha said, noticing that his vision getting more blurry by the moment.

"But why?" Kagome demanded. "Why did you do it? Why did you come for me? I don't understand."

"B…because," Inuyasha moaned as he felt his energy continue to leave him. "I had to…"

"Why though? Please tell me…" Kagome said as she held his head close to her.

"Because…" he croaked and he shut his eyes tightly as if something was hurting him inside… but it wasn't physical.

"Because why?" she practically screamed.

"Because… I… I love you," he said softly.

Time seemed to have stopped the moment those words left his mouth.

"What did you say?" Kagome whispered so quietly that only a demon's hearing could have a hope of hearing it.

"I love you," Inuyasha repeated with a gentle smile. "I've been wanting to tell you that for so long now…"

Kagome felt more tears beginning to flow as Inuyasha went on, "I guess it's true what my mother said to me once… The things we want to say the most are usually the most difficult to say. It's obvious when we think about it but that doesn't stop it from hurting."

He cupped her cheek as he gazed into her eyes with love-filled ones, "I love… because you taught me how. I feel… because you brought out feelings in my heart that I never knew were there before. I breathe… because you give me a reason to live."

Kagome had no idea what to say to that. Except…

"Do you mean it? Do you really love me Inuyasha?" Kagome said as tears fell down her face.

Inuyasha raised one of his clawed hands and he brushed her cheek free of tears so gently that it wouldn't harm a soap bubble. "More than life itself…"

Inuyasha let out a shuttering gasp and his eyes closed.

Kagome felt as if her heart had stopped beating… no… she felt as if it shattered into a million pieces without a hope of ever being put back together. This was not happening, it could not be happening.

Then she dug her face in the half-demon's chest, "No! Please Inuyasha, don't go… please… I don't want to lose you! Please don't leave me… because…"

"Because… I love you too…"

_*At the castle*_

Koga, Ayame, and Rin were in Inuyasha's room staring at the jewel from beneath the glass.

"So… let me get this straight," Koga said slowly. "You guys and everyone in the castle are under a curse… and this little jewel is the key to it all?"

"Yes," Ayame said sadly. "It seems like so long ago. Inuyasha is the prince of the castle, but he had no love in his heart. A powerful priestess then put a curse on him and everyone else who lived here. That was about seven years ago…"

"And Kagome is the only one who can break the curse?" Koga asked.

"Yes… well we believe so anyway," Rin answered, her eyes never leaving the jewel.

"But how is that…?" Koga began again when Ayame let out a gasp of horror pointing to the jewel. As they stared long and hard at it… they saw that the final shard of the jewel had emerged… and the jewel began whole.

"No," Rin said as she fell to her knees.

"Our time is up," Ayame said as she flew into Koga's arms and began to weep. Koga, who was still unsure of what was going on, just put his arms around her frame and began to comfort her. They were filled with so much despair… they didn't notice the jewel beginning to glow with a bright light, and then disappearing.

_*Miroku, Sango, and Shippo*_

Miroku buried his face in one of his hands as he placed the other around Sango's shoulder and pulled her close. Normally, Sango would've objected, but right now she held onto him tightly, just looking at the crying Kagome holding a dead-looking Inuyasha.

Suddenly a flash of light seemed to fall out of the sky and hit near Inuyasha's body. But Sango appeared to be the only one who saw it. "Guys?" she asked softly.

Shippo at their feet just sniffled as he sat down and began to bawl. "Stupid Inuyasha," he said.

Miroku nodded wisely, "Yes, he was truly a fool."

"Guys?" Sango repeated as more lights began to fall and Kagome was finally looking up.

"You said it!" Shippo cried out. "Inuyasha's the biggest idiot who ever lived!"

"Inuyasha had to have been the biggest…"

"GUYS!" Sango screamed. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

That finally shut them up and they watched in wonder as a shining light began to engulf, not only Inuyasha, but themselves also.

_*Inuyasha and Kagome*_

Kagome continued to weep; her sadness was so great that at first she didn't notice the lights that were falling around her and Inuyasha. But then, she saw the light shining through her closed eyelids and she opened them to see, what appeared to be hundreds of shooting stars falling around them…

She sat up straight, gasping for air, trying to understand what was going on. That was when she noticed that the strangest part was that she could've sworn that she had seen those stars before…

… wait… those weren't stars…

… they were shards of a jewel…

…the same jewel from Inuyasha's room.

The shards stopped falling… they began to bathe the ground around them in a pink light as they then began to swirl around them.

Kagome spun to look at Miroku and the others, about to scream for help when she saw that they were also being surrounded by the light from the shards. What scared her most however weren't the shards, but the blank, lifeless expressions on their faces… like they had been turned to stone.

Kagome had no time to register what was happening. She immediately stood up and backed away as the light began to get brighter and brighter until Kagome finally had to shut her eyes and cover her face from the intensity.

At that moment… she heard a woman's voice that seemed to echo somewhere within her mind, _"Do not worry… I looked inside not only Inuyasha's heart… but yours as well. And I can see that the love you have for each other is pure and true. His heart belongs to you now Kagome… and it'll be your job to look after it. I'm counting on you, Kagome."_

"Who are you?" Kagome said out loud to whoever was speaking to her. "What's happening?"

_"My name… is Kikyo… the love that you have for Inuyasha, and his love for you is enough to break my spell. Well done…"_ and just like that, Kikyo's voice was gone.

The light died down, and Kagome was finally able to sneak a peek at what was going on. She had to blink and rub her eyes several times before she was able make out anything that was around her.

And the first thing she saw… was Inuyasha standing with his back towards her, staring down at his hands. Kagome felt her heart speed up again as she held out her own hand… desperate to touch him, when he suddenly turned to face her.

The wounds and blood that he was covered in were completely healed and cleaned… in fact the only thing that hinted that he was dying just a few minutes ago where the torn clothes.

"Kagome?" he whispered, shock and amazement in his voice.

That wasn't his voice… it was softer… not the growl and harsh tones that she was used to… this sounded more… human than like an animal.

She looked at his hands and saw that they no longer looked like claws. Yes, they still looked sharp, but they now appeared to be more like fingernails than actual claws. Slowly, Kagome looked up into his face… the purple strips that were on either side of his face were gone… making his whole appearance look kinder, and more gentle. His silver hair didn't wrap around him like a cape anymore, and seemed to be more natural and a part of him; while the silver dog ears looked more like something you would find on a puppy then the big vicious beast.

And then Kagome found them. His eyes…

His eyes were no longer the blood-red orbs that sometimes scared her. They were the bright golden ones that she had seen in the picture in his bedroom. Eyes that looked as if they were taken from the sun's rays were shinning with amazement and joy.

"Inu-Inuyasha?" she croaked. "Is that you?"

She took a few steps towards him, terrified that if she blinked, then he would disappear. So focused she was on his eyes that she tripped over her own feet, and would've landed face-first if Inuyasha didn't close the gap between them and catch her.

Kagome hardly noticed that she tripped, so lost in his eyes… and he seemed to be lost in hers. It was the most incredible feeling in the world as she continued to stare at him. This feeling of absolute peace and security that she couldn't remember ever having… the curse was broken… and being able to see his face… his true face… there were no words for it.

And the way that he was looking at her… it was like she was the center of his universe.

A smile emerged from her face and tears sprang in to her eyes again as she raised a shaking hand, "Inuyasha?"

Her fingers made contact with his skin and he froze in shock. She reached for his cheek, just below his gorgeous eyes and held it there lovingly. Her other hand soon joined the other so that both fingertips were tracing along the edges of his eyes.

"You're beautiful," she whispered to him. His eyes widened, he didn't speak, but his silence said it all for her. His skin felt hot beneath her fingers and she swore she could hear his rapidly beating heart.

The love and confidence in her heart was soaring and she wanted Inuyasha to feel it. Her fingers moved past his cheekbones and gently glided over the smooth skin where a human ear should be. The spot was so smooth; almost like silk. He sucked in a breath at her touch and closed his eyes.

"Kagome…" he whispered.

"I love you Inuyasha," she said, her voice ringing with affection and truth. "I truly love you with all my heart."

Inuyasha raised his hands and placed them on her waist, when Kagome didn't object; he moved them to her back and held her tightly. "I love you too," he said quietly. "More than my life. I only wish I told you sooner."

"Inuyasha…" she cut her voice off when she saw him beginning to lean towards her.

Kagome was frozen, her cheeks turning rose red as he lean in closer. She smiled as she responded by raising her own face up towards his. As he opened his mouth slightly, Kagome's heart started beating even faster.

Then his lips gently and finally landed over hers, and she instantly knew that this was the real deal. She felt as if she had broken all earthly bonds and was soaring somewhere… higher than the birds and clouds… up towards the sun and the moon and the stars… this kiss wasn't what she had expected… no, it was 100 times better than she ever dreamt off. It was more than heavenly…

It was cosmic.

She closed her eyes and pushed herself closer to him, reaching her arms up and around his neck. He responded by wrapping his free arm around her back, firmly holding her against himself.

This was the real thing this time. At last, the moment Kagome had been dreaming about had arrived. The moment when nothing else mattered… not the curse… and certainly not pain…

All that mattered was that they were together. They loved each other.

Yes… she loved Inuyasha… and she wouldn't change it for anything.

**This is why I kept having them interrupted when they were about to kiss during the story! So that this kiss would make up for it. This story is finally almost over… only one more chapter to go! Sorry, no preview or chapter name selection this time.**

**I'll leave you guessing! Thank you all for sticking with this story for so long and for enjoying it! I only hope you enjoy the ending just as much!**

**If you feel sad that this story is almost over DON'T BE! As soon as I finish the last chapter, I'm going to be putting up another Inuyasha and Kagome story. I'll have more details on that story on my profile sometime before Saturday! Let me know what you think! Thanks again!**


	29. Tale as Old as Time

**Chapter 28: Tale as Old as Time**

Then his lips gently and finally landed over hers, and she instantly knew that this was the real deal. She felt as if she had broken all earthly bonds and was soaring somewhere… higher than the birds and clouds… up towards the sun and the moon and the stars… this kiss wasn't what she had expected… no, it was 100 times better than she ever dreamt off. It was more than heavenly…

It was cosmic.

Now, okay she knew that she read a lot of romance novels but she didn't know how else to explain how she felt?

She closed her eyes and pushed herself closer to him, reaching her arms up and around his neck. He responded by wrapping his free arm around her back, firmly holding her against himself.

This was the real thing this time. At last, the moment Kagome had been dreaming about had arrived. The moment when nothing else mattered… not the curse… and certainly not pain…

All that mattered was that they were together. They loved each other.

Yes… she loved Inuyasha… and she wouldn't change it for anything.

She wasn't planning on telling anyone about her special moment to anyone. That precious feeling of his lips and the memory would be safely tucked away for her and her alone.

At least until…

"INUYASHA! KAGOME!"

Did they have to ruin the moment?

The two lovebirds broke apart to see a young human child, a man, and a woman running towards them. Kagome, feeling the blush on her face, cock her head to the side and stared at the newcomers. "Who are you?" she asked confused.

"Kagome? It's us!" Sango's voice yelled in joy from the woman.

Kagome felt her jaw drop open when she got a closer look at her. She left the warmth of Inuyasha's arms and stepped forward towards the newcomers. The woman who sounded like Sango was definitely human that looked no older than 16. She was very pretty teenage girl with long dark hair, brown eyes with pink eye shadow. She had a kind and gentle face and Kagome could tell that she was humble but she had a warrior's spirit.

The young man standing next to her looked no older than 18. He was handsome, with black hair tied back in a small ponytail, he was dressed in the purple and dark robes of a monk… and Kagome couldn't help but notice a strange binding on his right arm. He was also carrying the same staff and had the prayer beads that Miroku also always carried with him.

His purple and black robes were modest enough for any person. And yet this man had certain… almost regal air to him. Not snotty and in your face regal like that some people can be, but it wasn't wild and free regal, either. More like calmed, collected, and when angered a force to be reckoned with regal; the type you'd expect from a strategist general or lord of legends.

The boy on the ground came up to about waist-height with flaming red hair and a sweet face. But his eyes shined with the same kind of mischief that you would expect from a natural born trouble-maker and prankster. All three of them were grinning from ear to ear, and staring at her as if she was the answer to all their prayers.

"S-Sango?" Kagome stuttered as she walked close to the woman and stared at her long and hard. "Is that really you?"

The woman smiled brightly, "Yours truly."

Kagome blinked once, twice, three times before she and Sango let out loud shrieks of excitement and began to hug each other tightly. While the girls began hugging each other and Shippo, who was crying tears of joy, Miroku walked forward to Inuyasha and said, "Glad to see that you're still with the living Inuyasha. And that you finally swallowed your pride."

Inuyasha gave him a dirty look, "Yes, I'm still alive; why wouldn't I be? And what do you mean by swallowing my pride?"

"'Cause you didn't come out after the fight?" answered Miroku as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What? You thought I get killed by some demon?" Inuyasha said outraged.

"I have to admit Inuyasha; you had me worried there for a second," Miroku said.

"If I wasn't in such a good mood, I'd kill you right now," hissed Inuyasha.

"Wait. You? In a good mood?"

Inuyasha shook his head then turned to Kagome who was hugging Shippo, "Um… Kagome? Are you alright?"

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Inuyasha crying tears of joy, "Inuyasha, I was so worried about you! I'm so relieved you're alright!"

The golden-eyed half-demon blinked once in surprise before it was replaced with a smiled as he wrapped his arms around the woman that he loved, who in turn leaned into his touch and didn't ever want to move from there. As they stood there in bliss, Inuyasha shot the other 3 a dark look that clearly said, _'One word… and you die.'_

They could only smile.

"Okay you two, enough with all the mushy stuff," Shippo began, "Can we get outta of this creepy place now?"

"Yes, my dearest," Miroku began as if it was Sango who asked and he suddenly took her hands in his own. "And now that we have both regained our human forms and the curse is lifted… will you bear my children?"

Sango opened in her mouth to reply, but Miroku suddenly went on quickly, "Please hear me out! Sango my love… I'll stop loving you when diamonds never sparkle and flowers cease to grow. When thunder never echos and rivers don't flow. When hearts no longer wonder and hands are never held. When smiles are only memories and hope is never felt. When trees no longer blossom and stars refuse to shine. Only then will I ever stop loving you. So … will you bear my children?"

Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippo all stared at the couple. They never knew that Miroku was capable of such romantic and sincere words. They then looked at Sango who was staring at Miroku as if he suddenly spoke another language.

Miroku then went on, "I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out. You brighten my day with the sound of your voice, you bring so much laughter and love you are everything to me and I feel that I've never been more blessed when you were sent here from heaven. And if I ever hurt you then you have all the rights to push me over a cliff and make sure that I never walk again! Just please… will you bear my children?"

Sango's face looked like a tomato as Miroku went on with words of undying love and devotion.

"I-I-I-I I don't…" was all Sango could stammer. Seeing that she was struggling to give him an answer, Miroku seized his only chance and put a hand under her chin before saying, "Maybe this will answer your question," Miroku captured Sango's lips with his own.

Her eyes widened at what was happening, while the other 3 stared at them in amazement. They were waiting for Sango to push him back and to punch his lights out… but what she did next shocked them to the core… she closed her eyes and returned the kiss as she put her arms around the monk.

Kagome's jaw dropped.

Shippo's eyes bulged.

Inuyasha thought, _'What do you know? 1000 times was how many marriage proposals it took for her to finally say yes.'_

Suddenly feeling as if Miroku was stealing his spotlight, he said, "Hey Kagome?"

"Yah?" she answered absentmindedly as if she could barely hear him. Her eyes glued to the couple, trying to figure out how this happened.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said again and this time she looked up at him.

"What?"

Inuyasha didn't say anything else. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her back into a kiss. She was stiff at first from surprise but quickly relaxed and was all too happy to return the kiss.

Seeing everyone kissing, Shippo started making gagging noises. Not that any of them noticed.

_*1 month later*_

"How could you forgive me so easily?" he asked quietly.

His voice had floated down to where she was walking, though he had to be rather loud to get her attention, she had already started in his direction.

"This again? Inuyasha, there really isn't anything to forgive you about. You didn't tell me because you had no choice," Kagome responded while sitting down on the fountain.

It's hard to believe that it had already been one month since the curse had been broken. When they finally returned to the castle that night to an excited crowd of people, they had found that their home had been completely transformed so that they barely recognized it. The dark, haunted-looking castle had been replaced with a shining, white-marble palace that sparkled over a clean and well kept courtyard.

The crowd, it turns out that all the servants that had live there had been turned into household objects and been cast into a deep sleep; and only the ones who were the most loyal to Inuyasha had been turned into demons. But now with the curse lifted, everyone has been restored and set free.

And they were all waiting in front of a faultless fountain with a stone angel replacing the gargoyle while clear water flowed and flowers were floating down from the blossomed trees that bloomed every few feet. It was like a horrible nightmare was finally over, and everyone could start living again.

Everyone had celebrated with a party that lasted 3 days before Inuyasha finally told Kagome what the only way to break the curse was.

"Really," said Kagome as she dipped her hand into the fountain's water and lifting a water lily to her nose. "I understand now why you never told me the truth. I had to fall in love with you without knowing about it. You don't have to keep going on about it."

"Still a lousy excuse," he stated rather angrily, angry really for nothing.

"What are you so angry about then?" Kagome asked as she looked up at him.

"No, I'm not really angry," the truth was he wanted to get her alone… away from his servants who never gave them a moment's peace. The whole presentation thing would wait, he wasn't angry but he did have choice words, "Close your eyes."

"Inuyasha I don't feel like playing close your eyes games!" Kagome said as she folded her arms.

"It's not a game just close your eyes," Inuyasha said in his usual grumpy tone.

Suspicious, she closed her eyes and unfolded her arms to simply clasped her hands together as she waited.

Making sure that she couldn't see anything, Inuyasha dug into his pocket and pulled from it a small square box. The outside was a dark azure, like the depths of the sea just before it blackens. It had shimmering sparkles and golden lining that separated the lid from the base. A diamond swivel is what held the two pieces together, making sure they don't burst open and drop its contents. He carefully pulled on the link to open the box; he tenderly lifted the box's lid open to reveal the silk interior and something far more precious than any prized possession of his past life that was left.

His fingers slithered gently around a ring that had a band made of the most beautiful gold, with a jewel that was, not only the color of a rose, but it was also shaped like the flower itself. He stared at it for a moment before he quirked his lips and placed the box back into his pocket. Taking the ring he then took one of Kagome's fingers and slipped it on gently.

Inside he snickered as she took a deep breath when she felt the slight weight of the ring lightly placed on her finger.

"Kagome?" he asked quietly while wrapping his arms around the woman whose eyes were stilled closed, he rested his chin on the top of her head and took a deep breath.

"Mm?" she responded while pulling her hands up to meet his.

"Marry me?" his question was light and it was like a feather breeze that fluttered in the wind.

She let it dance in the air before opening her eyes, "Yes. What took you so long to ask?"

He smiled, because one she said yes…and two he already knew she would say yes, so he hadn't worried what her answer would be. "Good."

"Oh Inuyasha!" she breathed out while finally looking at her hand.

He quirked an eyebrow before looking down and smirking as he watched her fingers stroke the jewel that he knew she would never take off. "Do you like it?"

"It's the most beautiful thing…" she couldn't speak more for no words could describe the dancing speckles of light that floated around the mauve sphere that made her fingers glow its pinkish color. The band reflected the prismatic lights and bent them to create new found pigments.

His hand caressed her cheek before he let his head tilt to the side. "It was my mothers."

"Your mothers?" he'd barely spoken about his family…even to her and though she knew he would tell her eventually she never pushed it.

"Yeah," he nodded absent mindedly looking upwards before smirking. "So what do you think your family's gonna say when they hear you're marrying the person who kept you imprisoned?"

Kagome let out a strangled cough which really sounded like a suppressed laugh. "Well… Sota I'm sure is gonna be fine with it. And as for my mother… she's wanted me to get married for a long time now. Gramps on the other hand…"

"Keh," he stated while holding back his laughter, not noticing someone watching from the front gate.

_*At the gate*_

_She watched quietly with a little smile gracing her lips._

_He had finally done it. After all these years, Inuyasha had finally learned to love. By learning to love another… Kagome turned around and changed his life… _

_No… she gave him his life back… that no amount of riches or power could do… she truly was his miracle._

_"Inuyasha…" Kikyo whispered so quietly that no human could ever hope to hear._

_*Inuyasha*_

Inuyasha paused from his ever coming happiness to have his eyes glance upwards over Kagome's head and to the front gate. He blinked in surprise, not expecting Kikyo to be there.

But she was. And when they made eye-contact, she smiled at him. That smile caused everything to flash in a second before him and all he could say to the woman that cursed him…

_'Thank you,'_ he mouthed to her. She smiled again before she turned and disappeared into the forest.

"_Certain as the sun,  
Rising in the east  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast."_

**_Hey! Thank you one and all for sticking with this story for so long! I hoped you'd enjoy it! And sorry for taking so long to put it up. It's just that I've been getting ready for exams and I haven't had any time to write. Now that this story is finally over, I'm gonna put up my next story soon. _**

**_For those who are gonna ask, Kagome and Inuyasha married a couple weeks later and in about a year they had their first child and son. They then went on to have another boy about a year later, followed by twin girls two years after that!_**

**_Sango and Miroku did get married and wasted no time in starting a family. 5 kids and counting…_**

**_Koga and Ayame got married and are thinking of starting of a family soon._**

**_Sota was happy to see his sister so happy and is thrilled to have Inuyasha for a brother-in-law. He and the rest of the family have moved into the castle with the lovebirds. _**

**_Thanks again and please let me know what you thought!_**

**The End**


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